Running Effective Therapeutic Groups

In this course, Anisa Varasteh, clinical sexologist and organisational trainer, extols the merits of group therapy as compared to individual therapy, explains the major types of groups, and discusses some of the important aspects of setting up and maintaining a group, such as establishing group norms. Varasteh delineates both facilitator and participant roles, and also the skills that group facilitators need, discussing these partially through the posing of example scenarios that illustrate the challenges faced by the group facilitator. The importance of the therapeutic relationship and how to use a trauma-informed approach in groups are outlined. Not all therapy clients are ready for groupwork, so Varasteh considers the questions you should ask to make an assessment as to whether an individual should enter a group or not. She also briefly notes that groups always form coalitions or subsystems, and that effective group facilitators need to be able to identify and work with these.