For all the value of one-on-one therapy, the therapeutic group experience can be even more transformative. The very personal nature of the sharing and feedback of group members, as well as the input from a group facilitator, provide an experience that in many ways is more profound and powerful than individual therapy. Many people who join a therapy group feel unlikable and find it hard to sustain a relationship. Group therapy provides a powerful antidote for this. In the group, you may feel understood and completely accepted for the first time.
The group experience also offers you a “corrective emotional experience” where you can learn to resolve dysfunctional ways of being in your personal relationships. This occurs through feedback between group members as well as from the therapist, observing how others relate, getting encouragement from the other members, and from learning and practicing good relational skills. You can also learn more about how others perceive you than you would from individual therapy. You may feel enormous relief as you begin to recognize that you are not alone in what you think, believe and feel.
In this setting, members gather information from each other and increase their self-knowledge from witnessing themselves in interactions. Through observation and feedback, members learn and practice new interpersonal skills and begin to make desired changes in their lives. At Soul Wisdom Therapy, group facilitators create an atmosphere of trust and acceptance that encourages group members to support one another while still being authentic. We also offer role modeling for active listening, offering support, and giving nonjudgmental feedback.
Soul Wisdom Therapy group facilitators teach and support group members to observe, with mindful awareness, their interactions with other members. Mindfulness is a practice that we will teach you in each group. We guide you in a process of self-discovery where you learn to observe your thoughts, emotions, judgments and body sensations during your interactions with others. Your observations of yourself and others inform how you affect and are affected by others.
Participants who commit to regularly attending the group almost always leave with greater understanding and acceptance of themselves, improved interpersonal relationships and coping skills, and more effective communication skills.