About Group Psychotherapy
If you stop and think about it, each of us has been raised in group environments, either through our families, schools, organized activities, or work. These are the environments in which we grow and develop as human beings. Group psychotherapy is no different. It provides a place where you come together with others to share problems or concerns, to better understand your own situation, and to learn from and with each other.
Group does work!
Group psychotherapy is an especially effective form of therapy in which a small number of people meet together, under the guidance of a professionally trained therapist, to help themselves and one another. This therapy has been widely used and has been a standard treatment option for many decades. In my clinical experience I have found group psychotherapy to be as effective and often more effective than individual treatment. Research studies comparing group psychotherapy to individual therapy consistently support the success of group therapy.
Who can benefit from Group Psychotherapy?
Group therapy benefits individuals who are simply seeking to gain a greater understanding of themselves in relationship to their social environment. It is especially useful for individuals experiencing social isolation, emotional conflict and/or difficulties in their relationships with others, be they friends, partners, parents, children coworkers, or people in positions of authority or subordinates. The experiential learning at the core of the psychotherapy group addresses related symptoms such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, shyness, excessive anger, and a lack of clarity with one’s own identity.
Why group?
We begin to learn about our place in the world through involvement in our original group – the family group. Beginning in early childhood and continuing through adolescence, we learn to deal with a series of interpersonal challenges involving many different types of groups. These experiences are not always satisfactory and we frequently find that we require additional tools. Discovering that our navigational strategies, both verbal and non-verbal, are not as effective as we would like, we can choose to consider alternative forms of relating to others. Group psychotherapy provides a safe and secure place to face our behaviors and our style of communication, to witness how our communications affect others and to practice new ways of engaging with them.
How is group effective?
An individual’s typical interpersonal behaviors attitudes and interactional patterns come to life within the context of the controlled learning environment of a psychotherapy group. Constructive input and feedback from other group members and the leader provides members with the rare opportunity to see and understand themselves through the eyes of others. Members come to recognize the difference between effective and less effective forms of communication and relationship building. Members find safety in being part of a cohesive unit. They provide and receive helpful feedback and learn new ways of addressing their interpersonal needs. Through this learning process members can enhance self-expression, increase self-esteem, and learn how best to be helpful to others.
Adult Interpersonal Group meets Tuesdays 2pm – 3.15 in person
An ongoing, longterm, mixed gender psychotherapy group for men and women 30 — 60 years old who struggle with any, some or all of the following: excessive social anxiety, chronic depression, social isolation, sexuality, relationship problems, and difficulties attaining career or work goals.
This group provides a unique, safe and honest place for members to learn about themselves and their styles of interaction. Individuals experience and learn how to create relationships that are healing, how to negotiate conflict, and how to obtain valuable feedback about how they interact with others in their social and work environments. In this group we focus on communication, relationship skills and emotional awareness. We practice being more assertive and develop a deeper understanding of the impact we have on each other.
This group meets in person in Silver Spring once a month, and on zoom on all other Tuesdays.
Group Facilitator: Dr Myrna Frank
Please contact Dr Frank at 301.706-5567 or by email at drmyrnafrank@gmail.com for more information.
Interpersonal Group for Adults meets Thursdays 5pm – 6.15pm on Zoom
There are currently 2 openings in this group. The group is suitable for 30-60 year olds who want to address concerns that include any or some of the following: relationships, intimacy, career challenges, parenting, past trauma, weight or health problems. This group will always be online and is therefore open to people who reside anywhere in Maryland, New Jersey or other PsyPact states. See here for states that have passed the PsyPact law:[ https://psypact.site-ym.com/page/psypactmap](https://psypact.site-ym.com/page/psypactmap)
A psychotherapy group of this nature helps its members develop awareness of themselves and of their interactions with others. The participants also use the safety of the group to try out new ways of interacting with others. The group aims to provide a unique, safe and honest place for members to learn about themselves and their styles of interaction. Group members learn how to create relationships that are healing, how to negotiate conflict, and how to obtain valuable feedback about how they interact with others in their respective personal and work environments. We focus on communication, relationship skills and emotional awareness. We practice being more assertive and develop a deeper understanding of the impact we have on each other.
As a potential group member you typically have three pre-group sessions so that I can learn about you and your history, and we can establish whether the group is the best way to meet your needs. We will also determine whether you feel you can work well with me, and we will identify the focus of your work in the group. Thereafter we meet periodically, according to your needs.
Group Facilitator: Dr Myrna Frank
Please call 301.706-5567 or email drmyrnafrank@gmail.com to inquire whether this group is suitable for you.
For a taste of what group therapy kinda looks like you can watch GROUP, an unscripted ‘made for TV’ show. This group is facilitated by a renowned group psychotherapist; the group members are actors who are NOT working off a script.
Here’s the link: