Variations on Teaching and Supervising Group Therapy

Book excerpt: Learn effective techniques for teaching and supervising group therapy. This unique new volume brings together teaching and supervisory models for a host of theoretical orientations, including psychodynamic, family systems, psychodrama, gestalt, and transactional analysis. Variations on Teaching and Supervising Group Therapy is essential reading for mental health professionals who currently conduct groups but who lack the specialized training for becoming a supervisor who currently teach group therapy from one theoretical orientation and want to learn about other modalities who teach academic courses on group therapy and want to expose students to a broader perspective of group modalities than the usual one or two models--psychoanalytic and activity groups--usually taught in schools The contributing authors are social workers and professionals from other disciplines who represent a cross section of the teachers of the various types of groups being conducted in the United States today. They describe an exciting array of teaching formats--one-day workshops, semester-long courses, year-long training programs, weekly supervision sessions, and outside consultation--and settings, including family service agencies, child guidance centers, short-term health maintenance organizations, freestanding group training institutions, and private practice. Some of the highlights of this practical book include an examination of the most commonly used format in group therapy today--psychodynamics a demonstration of using family systems theory to understand the group therapy participants and process the key concepts and history of psychodrama the key concepts and basic aspects of a gestalt training program for practicing therapists strategies for teaching social work students a look at the skills needed for conducting group therapy with children a model for training therapists who conduct short-term groups