66th Annual Conference

Thursday, February 19

Morning Workshops

10:00 A.M.-12:30 P.M.

Workshop 5

'The Nice Group':  Investigating The Conscious and Unconscious Agreements that Leaders and Group Members Employ to Avoid Conflict and Seek Approval

Chair:                

Judith Schaer, LCSW, CGP, FAGPA, Co-Director, Long Island Center for Group Training, Roslyn, New York

When the group leader and group members cannot tolerate narcissistic injury and withstand expressions of anger and disappointment, group progress is thwarted. In this experiential workshop, participants will explore ways in which we collude in maintaining a "friendly atmosphere" and avoid conflict.

demonstration-sharing of work experiences-experiential-didactic

Learning Objectives:

The attendee will be able to:

1. Recognize how fears and limitations (both leaders and members) influence the potential of our groups.

2. Identify factors that contribute to acting out behaviors in group.

3. Develop strategies to deal with conflict constructively.

Course References:

1. Epstein, L. (1984) An interpersonal-object relations perspective on working with destructive aggression. Contemporary Psychoanalysis 20(4); 651-662.

2. Epstein, L. (1987) The problem of the bad analyst feeling. Modern Psychoanalysis 12(1): 35-45.

3. Kirman, Jacob H. (1995) Working with Anger in Groups: A Modern Analytic Approach. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy 45(3), 303-327.

4. Rosenthal, Leslie (1987) Resolving Resistance in Group Psychotherapy. Northvale, N.J.  Jason Aranson.

5. Silverstein, Judith L. (1997) Acting Out in Group Therapy; Avoiding Authority Struggles. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy 47(1), 31-48.