Emerging adults' experiences of brief group interventions: two approaches to possible selves

The present study used thematic analysis to explore participants' subjective experiences of two group approaches targeting emerging adults' possible selves. Eighty-six emerging adults were randomly assigned to one of the interventions and responded to four open-ended questions following the completion of the group program. The themes that materialized from the researchers' interpretation of the data were organized into three overarching categories. These categories included psychosocial changes (four themes), experiences that facilitated group processes (nine themes), and experiences that hindered group processes (five themes). Themes were associated with one or both interventions. The researcher's analyses of participant experiences highlighted both shared and distinct aspects of the interventions. Findings from the present inquiry provided further support for group intervention as a promising means of strengthening possible selves in emerging adulthood. Moreover, they suggest different possibilities for group counsellors to consider when offering such programming to emerging adult clients.