Group I’d Like To Lead
Introduction
A human services professional helps people facing varied problems to manage them and enhance their quality of life. For example, a human service professional’s competencies aids in the management of mental health, and especially for young people and people with various disabilities. Human services entails meeting diverse human needs while emphasizing focus on preventing and remediating problems to uphold the commitment to enhance the quality of life and general wellness of the population.
- The Composition Of The Group And Type Of Group
I seek to form a mental health advocacy group in the future because I am interested in securing the mental health of LGBT people and people living with disabilities. A mental health advocacy group is an effective approach for pushing the agenda of mental health and pressurizing national governments to ascertain equality in the provision of health rights of all people in the population. The group is informed by the need to improve the mental health of these vulnerable groups because their mental health needs are rarely looked after by the pertinent agencies. For instance, there no major policies and programs aimed at improving the mental health of these populations. Considering the scarcity of such policies and programs, the best approach is to use a mental health advocacy group to vocalize the need for increasing awareness on the mental health needs of these often discriminated against populations.
The composition of this group will entail a chairperson, who will communicate the varied purpose of the group and articulate the processes and approaches required to attain the group’s objectives. The chairperson will also provide the needed oversight to ensure that the group is attaining its objectives while using the availed resources effectively. The group will also feature an associate chairperson who will act as the chair in the absence of the chairperson. The associate chairperson will also aid and advise the chairperson on all pertinent matters and direct the important committee assignments. The associate will also sub-chair meetings, advice on policy improvements, and help in managing the budget. The group will also feature a steering committee that will feature mental health experts, financial advisors, senior stakeholders, and members of the targeted groups to advice on how to direct the design and implementation of inclusive policies, a function of such committees as noted by (Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, 2020). The group will also have an advisory panel to highlight the actions required to change the vital attitudinal and structural limitations to attaining positive mental health results in the highlighted population groups.
- The Strengths and Challenges I have as a Group Leader in Leading This Group
I have various strengths that allow me to serve as the chairperson of the mental health advocacy group. For instance, I previously served as an advocate for emphasizing the need to recognize the rights of children to promote child welfare. I coordinated activities between various stakeholders to spread awareness on child welfare and advice on designing and implementing inclusive strategic plans catering to diverse child welfare needs. My experience will help me advocate with various government bodies to increase awareness on mental health concerns and work methodically to improve service provision for the identified categories of people with mental illness.
Some of the various challenges I might encounter include managing dual relationships because of the possible difficulties in managing friendship and delivery of expectations. There are also possible challenges of the workers in the group experiencing stigmatization and discrimination from other members in the group based on their various disabilities and sexual orientation. Further, difficulties may arise in managing conflicts of interest among the group’s members before they become acclimatized to each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I also expect to encounter initial funding challenges because of limited resources as we seek funding from various interest groups.
- The Theoretical Perspective I Would Utilize In This Group
The best theoretical perspective is the humanistic approach because it enhances self-realization as well as self-awareness by helping the individual understand who they are and provide them with a chance to explore how to create their individual choices (Merrill, 2013). The humanistic approach focuses on a person’s distinctive personal competencies to explore growth, creativity, and psychological understanding. If the advocacy group understands the application of this approach, they will help create a supportive environment that will help the members of the highlighted categories understand their needs, challenges, and rights, so that they can articulate themselves better on how these rights can be attained and how the various challenges can be resolved.
- How I Would Manage Dual Relationships In This Group
According to GoodTherapy (2019), a dual relationship happens when a significantly different, secondary relationship exists between a client and a therapist. The implication is that although the group will have various individual roles and responsibilities, there is a possibility of the existing friendships affecting the effective delivery of these duties among the members. As such, I will ensure that the delivery of such duties is handled objectively and separated from friendship to avoid extending deadlines unnecessarily based on not wanting to pressure friends. Additionally, I will ensure clarity in boundaries between roles to ensure that official matters are not discussed unofficially to avoid upsetting our stakeholders and clients and maintain professionalism.
- The Ideal Time, Space, Recruitment, Population, Etc For This Group, And How I Would Find These Things, Including How I Would Pay For Them
The ideal time for forming this group is in the next three months. The best way to attain the vital input required to form this group and design an effective operation schedule is to build strategic alliances with members from the various targeted groups and the private sector who share interests in advocating the welfare of the various highlighted groups. I will also incorporate groups and individuals from various nongovernmental organizations and government agencies and ministries. I will attain the audience of these members by making a proposal and approaching the various advocacy groups for LGBT people and people living with disabilities, in the government and public and private sectors. Approaching these groups will help me emphasize public support for the importance of supporting the rights of the highlighted groups, which will create public awareness for the new groups. I will also conduct extensive campaigns on the various social media platforms to recruit additional support from the public and private sector. I will then use the connections I made as a child welfare advocate to establish connections with the various government ministries and agencies and nongovernmental associations.
- A sample Curriculum From At Least One Group Session
The introductory group session will entail equipping the members with the fundamental skills needed in understanding and applying effective lobbying techniques and on conducting participatory advocacy to facilitate sustainability in the various group discussions on mental health. The group will be introduced to the various challenges faced by members of these groups and on the current interventions instituted by various agencies and stakeholders to improve their welfare and the obtained results. The lesson will also highlight the importance of advocacy concerns and the legislative process to highlight their impact on mental health care.
- An Outline Of The Ideal Number Of Sessions And/Or The Ideal Flow For My Group
Group flow entails all members of the group working in unison and with full involvement to deliver the various objectives that will collectively help meet the targeted objectives. Establishing an ideal flow will entail conducting a number of sensitization lessons, with the first session aimed at informing the members of the composition of the group and the importance of involving each of these group members. The second session will entail providing an overview of the group’s functions, followed by a third session articulating the pertinent policies and procedures of operation. The fourth session will sensitize members on their respective rights and duties to guide them on how to work with various agencies to determine how to provide the required mental health wellness services to the highlighted groups. This session will inform members on how to resolve the various challenges that may emanate from working amongst themselves, with the members of the highlighted groups, the government, other advocacy groups, and with the pertinent stakeholders. The fifth session will teach the group members the right guidelines on how to present and address the various challenges and dilemmas they encounter in the execution of their roles. The last session will entail discussing the required guidelines for disclosure, sharing information, and confidentiality. Holding these sessions will ensure that group members are on the same page and help avoid the conflicts that arise from deciding on the best recourse for pursuing the necessary actions.
- My Personal Motivation For Choosing This Group
I am motivated to choose this group because of my interest in enhancing mental health awareness and improve peoples’ psychological welfare. I also take a keen interest in advocacy, and especially on raising awareness on the various mental health issues faced by the members of the targeted groups. I desire that members from these groups access the requisite support to reintegrate them into all facets of social life and enhance their overall welfare.
- Multicultural View
I believe in the importance of having a multicultural view when making a group because people from different cultures are affected by different mental health issues and they also have different approaches on how to manage these issues. As such, having a multicultural group view will aid in the development of more inclusive preventive and remediating measures and also speed up the implementation of any strategies that the group comes up with to improve mental health for these groups.
- My Personal Bias
I have a tendency to force my opinion on people and see that it is implemented, a bias that I will seek to resolve by ensuring that all group members understand this bias to keep me in check and ensure that all recommendations are adopted objectively.
- Training I May Need
I need additional training in legislative advocacy to enhance my capacity to influence the effective introduction, ratification, or adjustment of legislation pertinent to promoting the mental wellbeing of the identified groups. I will also seek to improve my management capacity for directing group functions.
References
GoodTherapy. (2019). Dual relationship. https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/dual-relationship-definition
Law and Justice Foundation of NSW. (2020). Implementing a project: the role of a Steering Committee. http://www.lawfoundation.net.au/ljf/site/templates/resources/$file/SteeringCommittee.pdf
Merrill, C. (2013). Reflections on humanistic psychology and the person-centered approach. The Person-Centered Journal, Vol. 20, No. 1-2, adpca.org/system/files/documents/journal/Merrill-Reflections_on_Humanistic_Psychology_and_The_PCA-PCJ_20_1-2_2013.pdf