Process Skills: Dealing With Dysfunctional Group Members

Joanie Connors, Ph.D.

People who work in group settings often encounter difficult personalities who paralyze and frustrate group discussions. The most common dysfunctional roles found include the Monopolizer, the Just Plain Difficult Person, the Drama Queen or King, the Narcissistic-Opinionater, the Critic, the Outsider, the Problem Avoider, the Worrier, the Help Rejecting Complainer and the Uninvolved One. This session will describe these dysfunctional member roles and strategies for dealing with them. Participants will learn how to: shift the dynamics, make the covert overt, add structure and tailor responses to specific personality types.

Joanie Connors, Ph.D. is a licensed therapist and psychology teacher who specializes in group and relationship dynamics. She has over 30 years experience doing psychotherapy, teaching and consulting and has been an activist in peace and human rights causes since 1969. Joanie is currently involved in her 2nd forming cohousing group in Silver City, New Mexico. She is an adjunct faculty at Western New Mexico University and is working on several writing projects.

Presentation: Dysfunctional Members