62nd Annual Conference

Session 315
Excitement within the Group: Patient and

Therapist Contribution

Chair:              

Gil Spielberg, M.S.W., Ph.D., CGP, FAGPA, Private Practice, La Jolla, CA                       

Panelists:           

Stewart L. Aledort, M.D., CGP, Washington, DC

Sara J. Emerson, LICSW, M.S.W., CGP, FAGPA, Cambridge, MA

Louis R. Ormont, Ph.D., CGP, DFAGPA, Clinical Professor, Adelphi University, Gordon Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Garden City, NY

The panel will explore the experience of excitement from theoretical, countertransference and treatment perspectives. Dr. Aledort will lead a demonstration group. The session will conclude with audience and panelist dialogue.

Learning Objectives:

The attendee will be able to:

1. Describe the role of the group therapist in moderating the degree of excitement in the group.

2. Summarize a developmental model of excitement.

3. Identify counter-transference issues which are stimulated by the group's level of excitement.

References: 

1.  The Technique of Group Treatment: The Collected Papers of Louis R. Ormont, Ph.D. (2001). Ed. Furgeri, L. Psychosocial Press

2.  The Group Therapy Experience. (1992). St. Martin's Press

3.  Dreams of love and fateful encounters: The power of Romantic Passion (1998). Person, E. Penguin USA Paperback.