Stage 6: Postgroup Issues-Evaluation and Follow-Up

Stage 6: Postgroup Issues—Evaluation and Follow-Up
Just as the formation of a group and the leader’s preparatory activities greatly
affect the group’s progress through its various stages, the work of the leader once the
group has come to an end is also highly important. The last session of the group is not
a signal that the leader’s job is fi nished, for there are important considerations after
termination. Two issues are dynamically related to the successful completion of a
group’s development: evaluation and follow-up.
Part of effective practice entails developing strategies to ensure continuing
assessment and designing follow-up procedures for a group. To aid this work,
consider the following questions: What is the group leader’s responsibility in
evaluating the outcomes of a group? How can the leader help members evaluate the
effectiveness of their group experience? What kind of follow-up should be provided
after the termination of a group? What are the ethical considerations in evaluating a
group and arranging for follow-up procedures?
EVALUATING THE PROCESS AND OUTCOMES OF A GROUP

Evaluation is a basic aspect of any group experience, and it can benefit both
members and the leader. Ethical practice requires a realistic assessment of the
learning that has occurred. Evaluation is not a procedure to use only at the
termination of a group. It should be an ongoing process throughout the life of a group
—or at least at important turning points in the group—that tracks the progress of
individual members and the group as a whole.
In many agencies, group counselors are required to use objective measures as a
means of demonstrating the effectiveness of a group. Standardized instruments can
assess individual changes in attitudes and values. Some type of rating scale can also
be devised to give the leader a good sense of how each member experienced and
evaluated the group. Such practical evaluation instruments can help members make a
personal assessment of the group and can also help the leader know what
interventions were more, or less, helpful. A willingness to build evaluation into the
structure of the group is bound to result in improving the design of future groups, and
it increases the leader’s professional credibility and accountability.
Writing done by members about the group experience is a very useful basis for
subjectively evaluating the meaning of a group experience. Generally, I ask people
before they enter a group to put down in writing what their concerns are and what
they expect from the group. I strongly encourage members to keep an ongoing journal
of their experiences in the group and in their everyday lives between sessions. This
writing process helps participants focus on relevant trends and on the key things they
are discovering about themselves and others through group interaction. Journal
writing gives participants a chance to recall significant occurrences in the group and
helps them identify what specifically they liked most and least about the group. The
writing process is a useful tool for self-evaluation and is in itself therapeutic.
Finally, I often ask members to fi ll out a brief questionnaire or survey when we
come together for the postgroup meeting. This procedure can also be used at various
points throughout the group. Members are asked to evaluate the techniques used, the
group leader, the impact of the group on them, and the degree to which they think
they have changed because of their participation in the group. These questions are
designed to get information on key matters:
 Did the group have any negative effects on you?
 How has the group infl uenced you in relation to others?
 Have your changes been lasting so far? Is so, how?
The questionnaire is a good way to get members focused before the exchange
of reactions that occurs in the follow-up session. It also provides useful data for
evaluating the group. If the group was coled, it is important that the coleaders make
time to meet to discuss what they can learn from the members’ evaluations and to
make revisions and plans for future groups.
THE FOLLOW-UP GROUP SESSION

It is wise at the fi nal session of a group to decide on a time for a follow-up
session to discuss the group experience and put it in perspective. This session is
valuable not only because it offers the group leader an opportunity to assess the
outcomes of the group but also because it gives members the chance to gain a more
realistic picture of the impact the group has had on them and their peers.
At the follow-up session members can discuss the efforts they have made since
termination of the group to implement their learning in the real world. They can
report on the diffi culties they have encountered, share the joys and successes they
have experienced in life, and recall some of the things that occurred in the group. A
follow-up session also provides people with the opportunity to express and work
through any afterthoughts or feelings connected with the group experience. At this
time the mutual giving of feedback and support is extremely valuable. It is also a
good time to assist members in locating specific referral resources for further growth
once the group ends. All members can be encouraged to find some avenues of
continued support and challenge so that the ending of the group can mark the
beginning of a new search for self-understanding.
The element of accountability that a follow-up session encourages maximizes
the chances of long-lasting benefits from the group experience. Many people have
reported that simply knowing that they would be coming together as a group one or
more months after the group’s termination and that they would be giving a self-report
provided the stimulus they needed to stick with their commitments. Finally, the
follow-up session offers leaders another opportunity to remind participants that they
are responsible for what they become, and that if they hope to change their situation
they must take active steps to do so.
INDIVIDUAL FOLLOW-UP SESSIONS

In addition to the group follow-up session, I endorse the idea of leaders
arranging for a one-to-one follow-up session with each member, if it is practical. If
you administered any pretests to assess beliefs, values, attitudes, and levels of
personal adjustment before the group sessions began, it is a good idea to administer
some of these same instruments during one of the fi nal sessions for comparison
purposes. When you meet with members on an individual basis at the follow-up
session to review how well they have accomplished their personal goals, these
assessment devices can be of value in discussing specific changes in attitudes and
behaviors.
These individual interviews after the termination of a group, which may last
only 20 minutes, help the leader determine the degree to which members have
accomplished their goals. Members may reveal reactions in the individual session that
they would not share with the entire group. Also, this one-to-one contact tells the
participants that the leader is concerned and does care. The individual interview
provides an ideal opportunity to discuss referral sources and the possible need for
further professional involvement—matters that are probably best handled
individually. Although it is ideal to conduct individual follow-up sessions, this may
not be practical in some settings.
Concluding Comments
I have mentioned more than once that the stages in the life of a group do not
generally flow neatly and predictably in the order described in these two chapters. In
actuality there is considerable overlap between stages, and once a group moves to an
advanced stage of development there may be temporary regressions to earlier
developmental stages.
However, knowledge of the major tasks that commonly confront participants
and the leader during the different stages of the group’s evolution enables you to
intervene at the right time and with a clear purpose. Having a clear grasp of typical
stages of group development gives you a conceptual map from which to operate.
Knowledge of the group’s critical turning points enables you to assist the members in
mobilizing their resources to successfully meet the demands facing them as their
group progresses. Knowledge of the typical pattern of groups gives you an overall
perspective that enables you to determine which interventions might be more useful
at a particular time. Also, this perspective allows you to predict and prepare for
certain crises in the life of the group and to manage them more effectively.
Chapter 18 describes an actual group as it progresses from the initial through
the final stages of development. I highly recommend that you read Chapter 18 now,
prior to delving into the survey of theories contained in Part Two. Rereading Chapter
18 after you have completed Part Two will then provide a good way for you to pull
all the theories together.

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Stage 6: Postgroup Issues—Evaluation and Follow-Up

EVALUATING THE PROCESS AND OUTCOMES OF A GROUP

THE FOLLOW-UP GROUP SESSION

INDIVIDUAL FOLLOW-UP SESSIONS

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