A roomful of individuals is not a group. To be successful, a group requires training in group skills, the opportunity to practice, and a lot of patience from its facilitators. As a group unfolds, it goes through a number of fairly predictable developmental stages. With the proper nurturing, groups evolve and mature just like people.

A basic understanding of these developmental stages helps us form realistic expectations for our group's performance. We also get to know how to support the transition from one stage to the next. While some group behaviours are predictable, they are different in various ways.

A group is never really completely finished with a given stage. While it is helpful for group evolution to keep the activities appropriate to the stage of group development, each stage may be revisited over and over again, if and when necessary. Losses occur in the membership, and each person's level of involvement changes as he re-examines his role in the group. New topics bring forward new leaders, conflicts are resolved, and individual members continually rediscover each other as their facades drop and their commonality is revealed. As a result, the group cohesion grows, functioning improves, and the group evolves. Each time a stage is revisited, the group brings new perspectives, new skills, and increased solidarity to face the challenge at hand.

Forming/Beginning: In the early stages, the new members of the group may feel lonely and even anxious. There will be several questions to answer, such as "will I have homework, who are others, will I fit in, will I be embarrassed, will it be fun?" Self-esteem issues will be in high gear. Those with low self-worth are apprehensive and wary of this mode of working. The confident members on the contrary look forward to the experience as an opportunity to grow. There is an intense scrutiny of appearances, language, or anything that helps determine "where do I belong in this group, who is dangerous, who has the power, and what will happen?" These questions need to be addressed at the early stage of the group formation. People must get to know each other and understand the ground rules. After some early 'getting to know you' activities, the new group can focus its energies on deciding the topics to be explored and the initial guidelines and rules.

Storming/Struggling: Often, just when things seem to be cruising along weirdness begins to break out everywhere.

From the beginning, everyone would have been on his best behaviour, trying to live up to group ideals. This means that feelings of frustration, anger, and discomfort with aspects of the group or with behaviour have been brewing the secret. Struggle for power and control also start to emerge. Members have a general sense of where they fit in the power structure and begin to test the system. This is the stage at which group formation gets interesting. We have to remember that the emergence of conflict is a positive indicator that the group is getting stronger, not falling apart.

Conflict in the group represents an opportunity to build understanding and acceptance and strengthen group cohesion. Within the context of the purpose statement, guidelines and rules of group, members must be encouraged to value conflict and find constructive ways to deal with their predictable differences.

Norming/Solidarity: After group members have some experience with conflict, and more importantly, realise they have a system for dealing with future feelings of discomfort or fear, they feel safe and trust more willingly. In this stage the group really begins to see itself as a group, a 'we'. This stage aims at dealing with and facilitating positive feelings.

Focus on practicing the skills of interpersonal support, affirmation, and being present for others without fixing or giving advice.

Naming individual success and pointing out the group's increased ability to handle problems build a sense of group solidarity.

Performing/Accomplishing: In this stage the group members mature. They have a positive identity as members of group. This is important for success.

Members would have experienced intellectual and emotional benefits from their environment. They feel a personal commitment to the other members and responsibility for the life of the group.

At this stage the group uses and refines its self-management skills and becomes increasingly proficient. It's an exciting period. At times, the group can experience the set- backs, but they need to be overcome.

Closing/Ending: At some point the group will have to disperse. Whatever length of time the group has been together, this can be a difficult and painful process. But life is full of endings. It's precisely because of pain of endings that this stage should not be skipped. Learning to deal with losses in healthy ways is a primary gift of group membership. Closure should include both acknowledgement of pain and a celebration of what has occurred. A final group evaluation can be made and it can be asked for reports of the biggest challenges for individuals of group, the best moments, personal accomplishments, or ex-pressions of gratitude and appreciation. But we must remember that endings and losses are emotionally messy. They don't have to be done perfectly and should hurt a little because they are the other side of our love and caring.