Posted by morganator on November 24, 2009, at 0:49:54
In reply to Re: No benefit to adding psychotherapy to medicati » morganator, posted by floatingbridge on November 24, 2009, at 0:07:28
The one I was in and hope to get back into(the only reason why I stopped is because I moved away for a short while) had my therapist and another therapist that she worked closely with in her practice. The room would be set up with all of the chairs in an oval, as if everyone was sitting down for dinner without the table. Each therapist would be positioned at each end of the oval, like the heads of the table. Ideally you want a female and male for therapists as they act as mother and fathers figures.
The goal of group is to not just have another approach to getting to the bottom of and working out issues, but most importantly to learn to better love yourself and better be able to form and maintain positive relationships. Learning how to get the best out of yourself and others through proper communication is the main point of group therapy, at least the one that I was in. You find yourself learning so much about who you are and how you can improve your life through communicating with members in group. The therapists are there to guide and help resolve conflicts. They give input much like they would give in individual therapy. The therapists want everyone in group to form a strong bond. They do not want members to team up and sub group. Communication outside of group, while members are still involved, is heavily frowned upon. And, if you do happen to run into someone outside of group you are supposed to mention it in the next session. I guess talking outside of group can jeopordize all of the work being done inside group.
I think it is a wonderful experience if you are willing to put yourself out there and work hard. My therapist always said that if you come to group and never feel anxious than you are probably not getting out of it what you should be. If you don't feel anxiety than you are not being challenged. A good group should not make you feel pressured to talk. You should feel like you can go at your own pace. Although some group members may express that you are cheating yourself and others in the group by not talking and participating enough.
Group therapy is something I think everyone, even those that are not suffering, would benefit from. Not all groups are the same so everything I described here may not apply to all therapy groups.
poster:morganator
thread:926342
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20091117/msgs/926766.html