Let's visit two important counseling skills for group work: linking and blocking.
The NCMHCE content guide references these skills within the Counseling Skills and Interventions Domain. Test-takers should be able to "use linking and blocking in a group context." These topics may show up as simple recall questions, or you may need to apply the skills in a fictional case study.
Before you read on, see if you can guess what linking and blocking mean.
When a group facilitator engages in linking, they connect members with similar disclosures, concerns, or affects. In other words, they connect members with similar experiences. The facilitator may encourage one member to respond to another with similar experience, or they may reference a member's previous disclosure when it bears resemblance to a present one. This member-to-member communication can provide the session with momentum and empower participants to engage with one another. It can also help members to feel seen and understood.
When a facilitator engages in blocking, they interrupt a participant's behavior. The facilitator may use verbal or nonverbal methods to do this. Blocking can help interrupt tension or confrontation, but it can also simply set norms early in a group's formation. By stopping or redirecting unwanted behaviors, the facilitator communicates what is and is not acceptable in the group setting.
Have you used linking or blocking in a clinical context? How comfortable was it for you?