Group therapy is powerful for a number of reasons:
1. It provides a belief in the future, a sense of hope. The therapist must exploit group members' successes, and if he believes in himself and the efficacy of the group, the group will always be a positive experience.
2. It offers "universality". People always feel a sense of relief when they find out that someone else has experienced a similar setback, and survived. It is nice to see for yourself that things can improve, rather than continually hear it from those who don't really have a clue what you are going through (the ever present "everything will be OK" phrase which friends think is a comfort).
3. A group is an altruistic experience. Patients receive through giving. It is nice to know they can be important to others. The therapist needs to try to create an interactional network in which members freely interact rather than directing all their comments to or through the therapist.
The role of the therapist:
Unless the group has specifically been structured for the therapist to give a talk on a certain topic, the therapist usually takes a back seat. He is a facilitator rather than an active participant, and his aim is not to give advice, but to facilitate advice giving among group members.
Each group should follow a set procedure, an example of which is given below:
First few minutes: Provide explicit structure. Basic rules of the group are discussed, as well as an outline of how the group will be run (time, etc.) Definition of task: What is the aim of the group today? Also explain how the group works. Filling the task: Once you are aware of pertinent issues, address them by involving as many of the group as possible. Final few minutes: Review what has been said, and smooth ruffled feelings.
1. The type of rules one would discuss would include the fact that everything discussed in the group should remain confidential. A rule I am very firm about is that no person should be allowed to be attacked.One may only attack issues. The minute a person is attacked the entire interactional process breaks down, and the therapist has a lot of work to get the group back to its previous level of free interaction. Another rule might concern the length of one person's holding the floor. There are always people who, once they have the floor, cannot let it go, and if there is a rule for this from the beginning it is easier to "cut in" without hurting that person's feelings. Perhaps one could say that no one may hold the floor for longer than a minute at a time. Of course this all depends on the type of group you are running. Other issues might concern what group members feel about others smoking, that cell-phones should be switched off etc.
