Psychology

A group is a collection of two or more people, and through interaction, there is member relationship and involvement these people influence one another s attitude and behavior. This interaction results in dynamic processes which are important in differentiating these groups from a collection of individuals. Group dynamics is the study of groups and group processes, its main area of study being small group behavior.

Groups are very important in everyday lives, and the skills acquired from these groups are very vital. Individual identity is dictated by group affiliations. In other words, the effectiveness of groups depends on personal group skills and knowledge of group processes. Aims and goals can only be achieved through the cooperation and coordination of members belonging to the groups that one is affiliated to. It is important to note that the group one is affiliated to tends to influence the kind of decisions that heshe makes in life in instances where alternatives are presented.

Psychological health is primarily dependent on group membership for the accomplishment of its objectives. Psychological health refers to the ability to be aware of relationships in groups and to be able to manage these relationships effectively. Groups are significant in providing psychological help to individuals by giving them a resort to expressing themselves either positively or negatively.

This paper shall in essence examine the role of groups in the provision of psychological help to individual members of a group. It will also analyze the amount of depression experienced by individuals in a group by way of reviewing current research.

Therapeutic Factors in Group Psychotherapy
Therapeutic factors refer to the practical mechanisms that are used with a hope of impacting change in a patient. They include catharsis, altruism, corrective recapitulation of the family group, development of socialization techniques, imitative behavior, imparting information, existential factors, group cohesiveness, interpersonal learning, instillation of hope and the group as a social microcosm.

Catharsis
This refers to the experience whereby an individual is inhibited and often displays a dramatic expression of pent-up feelings. The individual is in a position where he expresses his distress, and other people understand this distress in a sincere way (Thienemann, 2005).

A cathartic experience is one which is often termed as  letting off steam  or  getting things off your chest . If individuals do not have a chance for such an experience, the distressing feelings can build up to a point of exploding without control.

Altruism
Altruism refers to provision of help to an individual without expecting anything in return. It is one of the most unique tools in group work. Altruism can be seen to play a significant role in instances of emotional problem recovery. Individuals with low self-esteem and those who look down on themselves find it rewarding when others take part and influence them positively in building their confidence.

Learning from Interpersonal Actions
Members in a group receive information in the form of therapeutic devices and gain by gathering data about their behavior. It is through the feedback of other members that an individual learns about hisher social self.

Universality
This is the realization that one is not alone and that others may have been in more difficult situations than what they are currently experiencing. When people realize that they can actually share their problems with people who understand, they are reassured and their feelings of anxiety, confusion and hesitation are wiped away (Gelder et al., 2001). Psychogenetic insight is when individuals makes sense of what has happened to them and therefore provides a way forward and eventually instills hope for the future (Perkins and Repper, 2004).

Vicarious Learning
Vicarious learning refers to the change in behavior as a result of observing others. Individuals learn more when they emulate models with characteristics associated with competency, likeableness and attractiveness. Attentional processes refer to individuals observing the critical characteristics of the model. Retentional processes are the acts that an individual perform in order to recall the behavior of hisher model. Motivational processes are the explanations of the observer to prove that emulated or imitated behavior will actually produce reinforcement. Lastly, motor reproductivity processes are the motor skills that are necessary for an individual to perform the imitated behavior (Olson and Fazio, 2004).

Instillation of Hope
Hopelessness in varying degrees may be experienced at times by members of a psychotherapy group. The members are depressed, and they feel that their future is pointless because they are not in a position to make positive changes in their lives. The individual in the group realizes that other members are improving due to involvement in group work. This, in essence, gives the individual hope and optimism about hisher own life.

Discussion
The way an individual learns, hisher speed of learning and retention of gained knowledge, can be influenced by the groups to which one identifies with. An individual s development of attitude is largely influenced by the group which in turn dictates the importance of the development of norms and response to situations.

Group experience seems to have a great influence on the way a person views himself and the role one should take in a given situation. Our decisions can be influenced either positively or negatively. Therefore, therapeutic factors are great influencers in the chances of success or failure of group psychotherapy. The impact of group dynamics on a group is very crucial in understanding the psychological issues of individuals.

It has been proven that group psychotherapy is equal or more successful than individual psychotherapy (Asselin, 2001). Clinicians can therefore be cost effective when working on group psychotherapy which also reduces pressure on them. However, group psychotherapy should be seen as an important tool and not only for reasons of cost effectiveness (Thienemann, 2005).

It is important to note that group psychotherapy has its limitations. In fact, it takes much longer to prepare for it than to engage in individual psychotherapy. A group facilitator can counter this limitation by enrolling a cofacilitator who can be of great help in group dynamics monitoring and supervision.

Another limitation is the fact that some therapeutic factors can actually impact negatively on some individuals, at least in the long term. Thienemann (2005) explains this in a case where individual members of an adolescent trichotillomania group reported that experiences from previous support group initially impacted them positively but they later felt dejected after sharing other members  experiences.

Conclusion
Psychological health is primarily dependent on ones group membership for the accomplishment of its objectives. Psychological health refers to the ability to be aware of relationships in groups and to be able to manage these relationships effectively. Groups are significant in providing psychological help to individuals by giving them a resort to expressing themselves either positively or negatively.

Therapeutic factors refer to the practical mechanisms that are used with a hope of impacting change in a patient. It is important to note that group psychotherapy has its limitations. On a positive note, group psychotherapy can provide each member with positive factors that are not offered in individual psychotherapy such as universality.