The Group Therapist’s Shame: A Much Undiscussed Topic

Terrified of Group Therapy: Investigating Obstacles to Entering or Leading Groups

Despite substantial evidence that group therapy is effective, many individuals are reluctant to join groups, and clinicians are reluctant to refer patients to them or to lead a group themselves. This article investigates the obstacles to participation in group therapy. It focuses primarily on the deeply personal elements of this hesitation for potential group members, which include social anxiety, fear of anger from other group members, dread of experiencing shame or humiliation, and desire for individual attention. Clinicians, as well, are reluctant to lead groups, because they feel insufficiently trained and may fear the experience of inadequacy, shame, and humiliation. These obstacles to participation are often driven by powerful components of transference and countertransference.

Suicide in group therapy: trauma and possibility

This paper compares and contrasts the experiences of two different long term psychodynamic psychotherapy groups in which a patient suicided. The acute reactions and longer term process of each group is described in detail and discussed. The reactions of the two leaders, married to each other and in a shared supervisory group with the late Anne Alonso, and their own working through of the traumatic losses are explored. Their experiences highlight the importance of open discussion of the suicides in the groups, consultation with senior colleagues, and continual processing of their own reactions as a means of fostering posttraumatic growth. The authors discuss their experience in light of the literature on trauma in groups and the emerging literature on posttraumatic growth and they reflect on implications for the community of group therapists.

The courage of the group therapist

This report strives to legitimize for the field of psychodynamic group therapy the reflection on and study of courage. The authors surveyed group therapy leaders, asking them to describe courageous moments in their own group practice, and then explored the common themes arising in these examples, including openly confronting their mistakes, facing their own and group members' anger, and dealing with unexpected moments in group sessions. Attending to courageous leader moments-and the feelings of hope and pride that they engender-help to neutralize the negative emotions that group leaders are constantly invited to contain. Paradoxically, accessing courageous moments can also evoke feelings of shame in the leader. If we are to require ourselves to embrace the sometimes terrifying challenge of journeying into the unknown with our patients, we must learn to be honest not just about our mistakes and our weaknesses, but also about our successes and our strengths.