Counseling Functions: Basic Counseling Information - Group Counseling Skills
A 12-hour course that provides introductory information on the core function of counseling, specifically individual counseling skills.  This course will give the student an opportunity to explore some basic group work theory and to apply this theory to working with substance abusers in both outpatient and inpatient settings.  The first section of this course provides an overview of general group work theory and the second section explores the application of group work theory to practice in outpatient and inpatient settings.   

Goals/Objectives

By participating in this Distance Learning Course the trainee will:

  1. Identify the three stages of normal group development;
  2.  Identify and define the different types of groups used in treatment of substance abusers;
  3. List the primary limitations and advantages of group work in treatment;
  4. Describe at least six cues for intervention into the group process;
  5. Describe at least three essential principles utilized in the formation of effective counseling groups;
  6. Identify three kinds of Outpatient groups used in the treatment of substance abusers;
  7. Describe the limitations of group work with chronic addicted patients in both Outpatient and Inpatient settings;
  8. Identify several helpful techniques for starting counseling groups;
  9.  List the benefits of using Whether-Or-Not groups in treatment of substance abusers;
  10.  Describe how the concept of “field dependence” influences group behavior in treatment;
  11. List at least four reasons for the utilization of group counseling in addiction treatment;
  12. Distinguish the benefits and limitations of both open-ended and closed-ended group counseling.

Your Course Instructor:
Vic Shaw, M.Th.
Co-Founder, DLCAS
Trainer/Instructor

Vic Shaw is a graduate of Southern Methodist University's Perkins School of Theology with a M.Th. and specialization in pastoral counseling. He has been active in the addiction field since 1970. During the past twenty-seven years he has worked as an Educational Specialist for the Dallas Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, as Director of Alcohol Education for the Dallas County Community College District, as an addiction counselor for The Texas Rehabilitation Commission, and as founding director of a thirty (30) bed inpatient addictions treatment center at Hurst-Euless-Bedford Hospital.

Vic was instrumental in the early formation of the Texas Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors (TAADAC) and led efforts to implement licensure standards in Texas. He has been a certified addiction counselor in Texas as well as a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor. He is former chairman of the Education Committee for TAADAC and former chairman of the Texas Task Force for Addictions Manpower Development. Vic also served on the Board of Directors for the Dallas and Tarrant County Councils on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Since 1983 he has devoted most of his time and energies to developing a model addictions counselor's training program that has been implemented throughout Texas, Florida, Mississippi, and Southern California. Vic is one of the founders of, and currently serves as Director of Marketing for the Distance Learning Center.