66th Annual Conference

Friday, February 20

Morning Workshops

10:00 A.M. – 12:30 P.M.

What Just Happened? Dealing with the Unexpected in Group Therapy

Chairs:                

Eleanor F. Counselman, Ed.D., CGP, FAGPA, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts

J. Scott Rutan, Ph.D., CGP, DFAGPA, Senior Faculty, Boston Institute for Psychotherapy, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

Open to participants with less than four years of group psychotherapy experience

The multi-person field of group therapy increases the chance for something unusual and unexpected to occur. This workshop will identify unexpected events that occur with some regularity and will invite participants to share unexpected events they've encountered in their own groups. Useful ways of understanding these events and dealing with them will be explored using a demonstration group format that includes a 'stop-action' technique to help participants consider alternative leader responses.

didactic-demonstration-sharing of work experiences-experiential

Learning Objectives:

The attendee will be able to:

1. Describe and discuss unexpected situations in group therapy

2. Identify various common sources of unexpected moments

3. Demonstrate useful therapist reactions to surprises in group therapy

Course References:

1. Counselman, E.F. (2005). Containing and using powerful therapist reactions. In Complex dilemmas in group therapy, Motherwell, L., and Shay, J.J. New York: Brunner-Routledge, 155-165.

2. Gans, J.S. & Alonso, A. (1998).  Difficult patients: Their construction in group therapy. International journal of group psychotherapy, 48: 311-326.

3. Rutan, J.S., Stone, W.N., & Shay, J.J. (2007.) Psychodynamic group psychotherapy, 4th ed. New York: Guilford.