Group therapy experts

Our psychologists have a great deal of experience leading group therapy in Philadelphia and nationwide.  Dr. Rayna Markin Ph.D. & Dr. Eric Spiegel Ph.D., focused their book Attachment in Group Psychotherapy on teaching therapists how to run groups concentrated on attachment, developmental, and relational issues.

Now offering online group therapy during COVID-19

We want you to know we’ve got you covered during the coronavirus shutdown.  We’re now offering online group therapy until it is possible to meet in person at our Philadelphia office.  Online group therapy is a great way to connect with and feel supported by others going through similar experiences.   Talk to us and learn more about our ‘online group therapy near me.’

We excel in providing supportive and interpersonal interactions.

Our group therapy sessions can cover many different topics, but ironically, the themed groups often end up discussing issues that we might consider to be “general group” issues. Universal aspects of the human experience – such as the quest to truly know oneself, the need to be understood, the wish for love and fellowship, and the struggle to cope with pain and loss – all become expressed through symptoms presented through various group topics.

Our therapists periodically offer skills groups for anxiety issues, however, the group therapies that we typically lead operate in an interpersonal process format, based on the principles espoused by Irvin Yalom. While we do some of the typical supportive work one usually associates with group therapy, the real magic occurs in the “here-and-now” interpersonal interaction. We establish a key distinction between “content” and “process” – content being the actual subject material discussed and process meaning HOW that story is experienced in the given moment and conveyed to others.

In group therapy, we focus on the process occurring between the different group members in any given moment. How are the group members interacting with each other? Who takes the lead? Who tends to be quiet? We tend to learn patterns of interacting with others based on our own personal experiences and developmental relationships. For example, individuals who learn that they need to be aggressive and argumentative to be heard by others, or the person who is a “control freak” and likes to manage their anxiety by tightly managing personal relationships. While these interpersonal patterns can be adaptive at times, they also can get us into relationship difficulties due to our unawareness of the issue.

These patterns come to the surface during group. Through feedback from the therapist and other group members, everyone begins to have greater awareness of personal relationship patterns and behaviors. Since group therapy is a microcosm (sample) of the types of relationship interactions we have in real life, group members become skilled at applying their newfound awareness to their relationships outside of group. This can result in significantly improved personal and professional relationships.