Greg Crosby – Group Therapy: Effective Strategies for a Successful Group Practice

Outline

Why Groups are Necessary and Important

• Need for groups in 21st century technological society
• Research on group effectiveness with clinical populations
• Match and identify group therapies to your practice

Ten Readiness Checklist Skills to Develop a Successful Group Practice

• Adapt skills from forming a group to final session
• The evidence behind each readiness step
• Special emphasis on population oriented approach

Four Lessons of Interpersonal Neurobiology and Groups

• The brain is strongly emotional
• The brain is interpersonal, needing safety and security
• Group members learning styles to enhance acceptance and cohesion
• Storytelling to improve intra and interpersonal understanding

Group Therapy and Nine Learning Styles: A New Perspective

• Education theory of Howard Gardner to group therapy and interventions
• Nine learning styles
• Enhance connectedness and change in your group

The Five Stages of Group Development

• Group stages: forming, initial, transition, working and ending
• Understand leaderships styles in each stage
• Four key roles that a group needs to function
• How to integrate group process and content

Entrance and Closing Group Rituals

• How rituals enhance the group process and treatment
• Importance of linking and summarizing
• Identify goals and build a maintenance plan

Five Common Challenges Found in Groups

• Common challenges: Lack of referrals, high dropout rate, dealing with challenging group behaviors, lack of group cohesion and clinical documentation challenges
• Therapeutic management strategies
• Importance of intervening with the group in mind
• How not to panic and utilize the group process

Co-Leadership and Mentoring

• Mentoring for your first group
• When is a co-leader needed?
• Research on solo leadership and co-led group

Tips on How to Integrate Skills and Group Process

• Art of integrating group process with skills
• Pacing disclosures and skills
• Simple, realistic and achievable goals

Ethics and Group Therapy

• Confidentiality, boundaries and dual relationships
• Tips on constructing group notes
• Role of supervision/training in group therapy