READING/TRAINING GROUP

Exploring “The Group Therapy Experience” by Lou Ormont, Ph.D. and “Group” with Elliot Ziesel, Ph.D.

A 12-week group for therapists and people Interested in group process 

Led by Zach Bryant, Ph.D., CGP

Tuesdays 8:00-9:30 a.m. - 9/15, 9/22, 9/29, 10/6, 10/20, 10/27, 11/3, 11/10, 11/17, 12/1, 12/8, 12/15

Green Hills, TN | $80 session | | Limited to 10 participants

This group is for anyone interested in diving deeper into the world of group process—whether you’re a therapist looking to learn or enrich your skills, someone in a group who wants to learn more about the process or someone who wants to learn about how group dynamics can foster growth.  

During each of the 12 meetings, participants will meet as a working process group for the first 75 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of questions/answers along with didactic instruction. During the process portion of the groups, members will be encouraged to share their thoughts and feelings about the readings and videos as well as about the dynamics unfolding in the group.

Participants will read Lou Ormont’s book “The Group Therapy Experience” over the first 8 weeks, which is a useful book about the practical applications of modern analytic group techniques.  Ormont offers guidance on forming groups, deepening emotional engagement, resolving resistances and transference, and fostering transformative connections unique to group work. 

Many of the techniques and dynamic conceptualizations are useful for individual therapy as well.  

In the last 4 weeks, participants will watch “Group,” a dramatization inspired by Irvin Yalom’s book The Schopenhauer Cure where the group therapist in the series (“Ezra”) is actually played by one of Lou Ormont’s students, Elliot Ziesel, Ph.D.. It is an interesting fictional depiction of a working group.

Each participant must purchase the book and schedule one individual session to review the group agreement and discuss fit and goals for joining the group.