Amy Confronts Her Anger Having been abused throughout her life and into her marriage, Amy decided to join a counseling group. She was not sure what to do, though. She had always stuffed her feelings...

Amy Confronts Her Anger

Having been abused throughout her life and into her marriage, Amy decided to join a counseling group. She was not sure what to do, though. She had always stuffed her feelings inside, and letting them out she found to be easier said than done. Gloria, the leader of her all-women’s group, encouraged her to not sit passively by but to model after some of the other women in the group whom she saw getting better. Amy did just that. She saw that Jeanette seemed to be getting better and that Jeanette was vocal in expressing her emotions without going overboard. Jeanette was not afraid to cry, either. Thus, through modeling Amy became more comfortable in expressing her feelings about the abuse she had received from a number of sources. After the group ended, she joined another similarly focused group because she felt she still had issues with which she needed to deal.

Questions

What does Amy’s behavior tell you about the developmental nature of people and groups? What else might you have done to help Amy had you been her leader, Gloria?