Modern man is exposed to permanent stress every day. The blame for the bad environment, problems at work, a noisy and dirty metropolis. The nervous system wears out, gives failures. In addition to pressing problems, any severe upheavals that have occurred in life can greatly shake the psyche. In any of these cases, the person is shown the help of an appropriate specialist. At the moment, therapeutic groups are very popular. Let's look at what they are.
The concept
The therapeutic group is a special community of people who periodically meet under the guidance of a specialist psychotherapist to receive certain psychological help and achieve the indicated therapeutic results.
For many years, scientists studied the beneficial effects of group interaction on the psychological state of a person and came to the conclusion that various kinds of meetings under the guidance of a good specialist are able to exert an effective influence and help in solving certain internal conflicts.
Currently, therapeutic groups are widespread and popular. They are used as an effective method of counseling and helping people with certain mental disorders.
Kinds
There are different types of therapeutic groups that differ in many ways. Currently, among them there are groups that differ:
- on purpose;
- according to the principles of the implementation of the desired;
- on theoretical components.
Each of these classifications includes a large number of different therapeutic groups that have their own specific characteristics.
Destination
This classification unites a huge number of psychological communities of people connected by a specific goal.
This can be a set of groups where absolutely healthy people gather, prone to strong loneliness or wanting to develop any useful psychological skills through various trainings.
A good example of such meetings can be, for example, women's therapeutic groups, where women are gathered and discuss their problems in personal life, at work. They share tips, find the right solution. Or the so-called T-groups, where people gather who want to learn and develop in themselves any skills through psychological training.
This classification also includes therapeutic groups of a therapeutic type, where people come for real help in solving their psychological problems.
Implementation methods
This classification includes communities that differ in methodological approaches to customer problems. For example, therapeutic self-help groups are very common. They bring together people who have similar problems or limitations. Helping each other within the group, under the supervision of a psychotherapist, they involuntarily help themselves, finding answers to their questions.
Also gaining popularity of this kind of psychological community is the so-called art therapy groups. Treatment and correction in these collections is based on the active use of the creative component. The methods of psychological influence can be various: from modeling and drawing, to watching films and reading poetry.
Theoretical basis
Such a classification includes therapeutic groups based on various theoretical bases in modern psychology.
The most prominent representative of this classification is the psychoanalytic group. The essence of this interaction is that its participants, under the influence of certain conditions and exercises, have the opportunity to survive their early life experiences, return to unresolved problems that caused the development of a particular complex, and entailed the creation of internal barriers.
The group members need to consider the source of the problems and, finally, get rid of it, that is, to deal with their internal fears and complexes completely. All types of therapeutic effects used in psychoanalytic groups are based on the so-called gestalt therapy. In this group, the therapist moves away from direct guidance and only creates the necessary atmosphere and conditions.
There are also groups of psychodrama. In contrast to the types of therapeutic effects in psychoanalytic groups, they are aimed at solving emotional problems. The psychotherapist here plays the role of the conductor who directs the process.
Treatment groups
The main task of therapeutic therapeutic groups, unlike many others, is a real change in the personal characteristics of the client, to a greater or lesser extent.
These groups are usually divided into stationary and outpatient. The first of these include patients with acute conditions. Most often, these people ended up in a psychiatric clinic due to severe depression, an attempt to take their own lives, and a loss of behavioral control. Also, these meetings are attended by chronic patients suffering from communication problems with the outside world.
Outpatient groups are organized to work with clients who are faced with difficult life problems in the field of family or other relationships. It is also recommended to attend these meetings during the rehabilitation process after serious psychological problems.
Group Dynamics Levels
Despite the huge variety of therapeutic groups, all of them are based on the interaction of an individual with a group and a psychiatrist, a psychiatrist with a group and an individual.
It is a certain influence from the side that has a completely different effect than with the individual work of the client and therapist. This is the importance of a society of people with similar problems, which is a powerful element of influence on an individual. Thus, in group therapy, not only the skills of a specialist are used, but also the psychological potential of individuals.
Based on the foregoing, when observing the dynamic changes in groups, three stages can be distinguished:
- Psychological dynamics of an individual.
- The interaction of participants in therapeutic groups.
- The dynamics of the group as a whole.
Cons of therapeutic groups
Despite the fact that intra-group trainings and certain support groups are very popular in our time, there are a number of limitations within which this psychological assistance will not be effective.
For example, with severe mental disorders, group therapy will not only not be a worthy alternative to individual lessons, but it will also aggravate the situation.
In addition, there are people who have problems interacting with society. Within the framework of the therapeutic group, these clients will not only not be able to reveal their inner potential, but also may prevent other participants from doing so.
And the openness and participation of others that occurs during the period of therapeutic work can create certain illusions in the client regarding the real world. This can provoke a certain gap in the pattern and cognitive dissonance between the desired and the real.