I came to my first NSGP Conference right while working in the V.A. system right after grad school in 1984. I wanted to continue and deepen my experience and understanding of group work that began in my internship. Although I remain an avid group aficionado, I have recently reflected on the experiences of some colleagues whom I've persuaded to attend the Conference who themselves do not practice group therapy. It is clear to me that the Conference provides very important experiential training for therapists VIA THE GROUP MODALITY even when the therapist may not have any desire to become a group therapist.
Greg Chilenski, Ph.D.
2 comments:
I completely agree with Greg. I use a lot of what I learn at the conference in my individual work with clients. Since our clients function in groups (family, friends, colleagues, etc), understanding group dynamics is essential for understanding how individual clients connect and disconnect from others.
I heartily agree with Greg and Sasha.
As individual therapists, we hear our patients describe their relationships and their feelings about others and others' actions-- and we experience and hear about our patients' relationships with us. But the highly complex network of connections that underlies the patient's narrative is not always easy to capture and work with.
Experiencing, observing, and leading groups provides us with additional affective richness and understanding. For the individual therapist there is much to be learned from a close, direct examination of the multidimensionality of group and interpersonal processes. I strongly recommend exposure to group work to individual and couple therapists as an invaluable way to enhance and strengthen the work they do.
Peter Gumpert, Ph.D.
Post a Comment