Psy.D. In Group Psychotherapy

A Tutorial Doctoral Program

Senior Tutor: Haim Weinberg, Ph.D.

We all belong to many groups: the family group, group of friends, professional associations, community and religion groups, etc. Actually we are part of groups from our early childhood, whether it is the family, kindergarten, school, scouts or peer adolescence group. We might be unaware of it, but our behavior is a not only a result of our personality but also of the interactional grid we live in. We are connected to others in an invisible web that impacts our daily life, our emotions, thoughts and acts. Taking this idea one step further, we can say that mental disorders too have to do with groups, whether they are the result of a group impact (from family to significant others) or impact the group and people we relate to. So it is only reasonable to conclude that disorders can also be cured in the group setting. The group accepting and holding environment, the participants' feedback, the interpersonal interactions from which members learn about themselves, all contribute to the anticipated change of the participant.

The aim of group psychotherapy is to help with solving the emotional difficulties and to encourage the personal development of the participants in the group. Members in the group feel that they are not alone with their problems and that there are others who feel the same. The group can become a source of support and strength in times of stress for the participants. The feedback they get from others on their behavior in the group can make members become aware to maladaptive patterns of behavior, change their point of view and help them adopt more constructive and effective reactions. It can become a laboratory for practicing new behaviors.

Mental health practitioners are less inclined to do group psychotherapy. Maybe it seems more complicated to lead a group because of its overwhelming flood of information, or maybe it looks as if it needs excellent social skills, or perhaps it’s the bad reputation that group work gained from the flower era of the 1970ies, the fact is that despite the proved merits, evidence based good results, and economical advantages of group therapy, not many therapists identify themselves as group therapists. Some of them lead groups from time to time, sometimes because of the requirements of the agency they are working for, but most of them have never studied group therapy, know only a little about small group theories, and think that once you know how to do individual or couple therapy, you know how to run a group.

This is a mistake. Group therapy is a profession like any other profession, and in order to lead groups successfully you need to study theories, learn concepts, practice skills and get to know how to apply all these into work. This is what the group psychotherapy program at the Professional School of Psychology is going to give you: A sound basis in the exciting field of working with groups. Becoming a student of this program is much more than an intellectual experience. It is an adventurous journey from which you return feeling different about your profession and about yourself. It is a growing experience. Be careful not to become addicted to groups after you are touched by the magical moments of the group.

The group psychotherapy program builds on four important components:

1. Theory: In this part you will learn theories of small groups and of group processes (such as Yaolm, Agazarian, MacKenzie, Bion, Foulkes, etc.). You will get to know important concepts related to groups (dynamic administration, resistance, content vs. process, transference, here-and-now, boundaries, etc.) and how to identify and apply them into group work. This part is mainly didactic, and can be learned individually with the help and guidance of your tutor.

2. Skills: This is the "how-to-do" part. You will acquire a "tool kit for the group leader". You will learn how to overcome resistance, what to do when conflict arises in the group, what kind of group members you are going to encounter (from passive to provocative ones) and how to deal with difficult patients, what is the optimal group termination and how to attain it, what to do with your own feelings and reactions while leading the group, etc. This part will mostly be taught through peer group meetings, where you will lead your group of peers and learn from their feedback together with you tutor's input.

3. Experience: You cannot learn to swim without entering the water. Here you are going to experience the group process. You will participate in a real group where all the theories and concepts materialize through your own experience. This part can be achieved by either joining a therapy group in your area (approved by your tutor), and/or coming together once in a few weeks to several days (or a weekend) of group work. In addition we will create opportunities for you to understand what you went through and integrate the emotional experience into theory.

4. Supervision: Here you will become a group leader yourself, at first as a co-therapist with a senior group therapist, and then leading a group all by yourself. Through all this new and challenging experience you will be accompanied by a supervisor in group or individual setting. You might make some mistakes, but this way you will surely learn to correct them quickly.

You can expect this journey to last for two to three years in which you will learn which important events in the group to observe, become able to analyze group process, make the best interventions as the group therapist, become confident about your group leader's skills and be able to facilitate the growth of your group members.