Exploring Psychodynamic Group Therapy

The challenge put forth in this course is for the participant to develop better understanding and application of contemporary psychoanalytic concepts and the psychodynamic growth-change-healing process.

• Theoretical Presentation (10-12:00/2 hr. session)
  • How Group Therapy Evolved from an Early Understanding of Group Dynamics
• Lunch (1 hour)
• Clinical Application & Case-Studies (1:00-3:00/2 hr. session)
  • Applying Relational Self Psychology to Group Therapy
• Break (:15)
• Group Discussion & Supervision (3:15-5:15/2 hr. session)
  • Fundamental Ways of Working in Psychodynamic Group Therapy with Individual Focus & Group-as-a-Whole Focus

1. What is a Group
2. The highly social nature of humans
   1. Families, tribes, clans etc.
   2. The natural tension arc, i.e. the group vs. the individual
   3. Hierarchies and group
   4. Synergy and co-operation
   5. Relational fitness concept

How Group Therapy Evolved from an Early Understanding of Group Dynamics:

1. The power of the group to affect the individual
2. Affect/emotional contagion
3. “Experience Learning” phenomenon
4. Applying early understanding of group dynamics to develop a form of therapy

Psychodynamic Group Therapy:

1. Basic definitions (psychoanalytic vs psychodynamic)
2. Applying Relational Self Psychology to Group Therapy
   1. Selfobject concept
   2. Unconscious organizing principles concept
   3. Mutual impact dynamics and the concept of co-creation
3. Employing empathic attunement and creating a “WE Space” in the group
4. Fostering “vulnerable moments” to facilitate growth-change and healing process 
5. What are the goals of this model of psychodynamic group therapy?
   1. Real time observation of patient’s personal intrapsychic processes and of interpersonal dynamics provides opportunity for growth-change
   2. Opportunity to develop healthy selfobject relationships (i.e. improve their personal relational fittedness in the social mileu)
   3. Opportunity to discover and change unconscious negative organizing principles

Two Fundamental Ways of Working in Psychodynamic Group Therapy:

1. 1. Individual Focus
      1. Process of focusing on and exploring individual patient’s intrapsychic process (i.e. vulnerable self, organizing principles etc.)
   2. Group-as-a-Whole Focus
      1. Process focused on unconscious group dynamics (i.e. in the moment mutual impact dynamics of how the group organizes itself as a group including relationship to leader)