Supervisors info:
Λήδα Αναγνωστάκη, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια, ΤΕΑΠΗ, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών
Summary:
In recent years, a great deal of emphasis has been placed on developing people's social competence, due to researches which certify its importance in their lives. Programs aimed at the development of children’s and adolescences’ social competence have therefore been built. One of the above mentioned programs is social skills training groups. Although there is a plethora of research about the effective functioning of these groups, there is no corresponding research interest in the views and experiences of professionals, who coordinate the groups about them.
This research is a qualitative research and focuses on the views and experiences of professionals, who coordinate social skills training groups in intervention centers, in relation to their construction and operation. A total of eight professionals participated in the study –four speech therapists, three psychologists and one occupational therapist. The research data was collected using the research tool of interview –specifically semi-structured interview– and their interpretation was based on thematic analysis.
The research data showed that most professionals adopt a medical-guided logic, which affects the way they conceive the reason of existence of the groups, aspects related to their professional role in them and also their emotions and personal experiences during the coordination of groups.
In particular, professionals are seemed to believe that these groups operate like a therapy for people with disabilities, aiming at the improvement of their social deficits, in order to participate actively into society. Moreover, they declared that groups are mostly appealed to people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Attention Deficit and Hyperactivite Disorder (ADHD), because of their connection with the deficient display of social skills.
The assessment of participants’ social competence, which has emerged as an important aspect of professionals’ role within groups, is in relation to the comprehension of groups as therapy. The evaluation process contributes to identifying the social deficits of participants with a view to improving them. This process also serves as a guarantee of the effectiveness of groups on the basis of changing participants’ social behavior towards a socially acceptable way.
About the coordination of groups professionals did not refer to the use of a structured protocol. The absence of structured protocol could be a conscious differentiation of professionals from the medical model. However, the role of expert they adopt combined with the insufficient expertise about the coordination of interactions within groups, as well as the selection of effective training techniques on the basis of the improvement of participants’ social deficits invalidate such a differentiation.
The professionals also pointed out the need to work together with the families of participants and with the school structures they attend, to make the groups more effective. However, they seem to have not received training, nor to have professional experience in the management of these partnerships. Due to these reasons, but also because of their medical- guided perception, they seem to be adopting the role of specialist in their implementation. As a result they do not try reciprocity in them, nor do they consider that they have a responsibility for arising difficulties, so they seek solutions to improve these partnerships in factors other than their own behavior.
Finally, the fact that professionals are not selected with specific qualifications –as coordinators of the groups– leaves some of them exposed. Specifically, many have no professional experience, no adequate training in coordinating groups and they are not being supervised by the centers in which they work. Therefore they seem to feel insecure about their professional role. This insecurity combined with the medical-guided perception affects their experiences and emotions during the coordination of the groups. Despite the difficulties they have admitted to experiencing not knowing, nor having been supported how to manage them, most professionals have not raised the need for support in coordinating groups, perhaps in an attempt to maintain a positive professional role.
Keywords:
social skills training groups, social skills, professionals, coordinators
