Facilitating an Experiential Group in an Educational Environment: Managing Dual Relationships

The significant benefit of experiential learning in group work presents ethical complexities that must be considered by students, faculty, and programs. This article explores the clinical and ethical intricacies of teaching a group counseling course while facilitating an experiential group as part of the course curriculum. Specifically, the framework presented examines the dual roles of facilitator and instructor as complementary versus adversarial functions while analyzing challenges to both teacher and students. Guidelines for effectively running an experiential group as part of a group counseling course are presented utilizing five ethical principles: fidelity, beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice. Finally, guidelines and practice considerations specifically tailored for the educative role as instructor and the process role as group facilitator are provided.