Therapeutic factors mediating positive Mirror effects in group counseling education

The group counseling approach in education helps students acquire hands-on experience through experiential learning strategies. This study employed a pretest-posttest, quasiexperimental design. The participants included 121 students enrolled in part-time undergraduate social work programs who were assigned to an experimental group or a comparison group; the experimental group (n = 82) rated their experiences with the group counseling teaching approach. The data from the experimental group were compared with those from the comparison group (n = 39), which was taught using a lecture method approach. Yalom’s Therapeutic Factors Inventory, the Mirror Effect Inventory, and the Group Counseling Education Questionnaire were used to measure changes in the participants. The results showed that the group counseling teaching approach was significantly associated with positive mirror effects. The results further indicated that the positive mirror effects were attributable to the group counseling teaching approach and mediated by four therapeutic factors, namely, universality, imparting of information, catharsis, and imitative behavior. The findings of this study demonstrate that the elements of this approach facilitate and enhance the therapeutic effects of group counseling education.