65th Annual Conference

Saturday, March 10

Morning Open Sessions

8:45 A.M. - 12:00 Noon

Session 314

Theory and Practice of Functional Subgrouping: The Systems-Centered Method for Resolving Conflicts in Power and Passion

Chair:         

Walter Stone, M.D., CGP, DFAGPA, Professor Emeritus, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio

Panelists:         

Yvonne M. Agazarian, Ed.D., CGP , DFAGPA, Founder, Systems-Centered Training and Research Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Susan P. Gantt, Ph.D., ABPP, CGP, FAGPA, Director, Systems-Centered Training and Research Institute, Atlanta, Georgia
 

Discussant:

Mary Dluhy, M.S.W., CGP, FAGPA, Faculty, National Group Psychotherapy Institute, Washington School of Psychiatry, Washington, DC

Functional subgrouping enables groups to discriminate and integrate differences instead of scapegoating them. This session teaches the skill for implementing functional subgrouping and then uses functional subgrouping in a large group discussion to explore how to resolve conflicts of power or passion without politicizing the differences.

Learning Objectives:

The attendee will be able to:

1. Apply the phrase “anyone else?” to develop functional subgrouping.
2. Formulate group development as a process of discriminating and integrating differences.
3. Separate differences into two different subgroups for exploring each side one at a time.
 

Course References:

1. Agazarian, Y. M (1997) Systems-centered therapy in groups. New York: Guildford.
2. Brabender, V. (2000). Chaos, group psychotherapy, and the future of uncertainty and uniqueness. Group, 24 (1), 23-32.
3. Gantt, S. & Agazarian, Y. (2006) SCT in clinical practice. San Francisco: Wingspan.