Group therapy is an essential mental health intervention that provides an effective mode of care for individuals to get healing and support from others with similar experiences. As a mental health professional facilitating group therapy, it is vital to be aware of various subjective and objective countertransference issues that may emerge during group therapy sessions. Countertransference is the therapist's emotional response towards a client during therapy, which can have an impact on the therapeutic relationship and processes. In group therapy, it is normal for therapists to feel both subjective and objective countertransference, which can affect their ability to provide care adequately.
Subjective countertransference can be understood as the therapist's internal emotional responses towards clients in the group. It
…show more content…
Therapists may identify with a client's experience, either because they have experienced the same issue themselves or because they have an emotional bond with the client. In this scenario, the therapist may feel a sense of attachment that goes beyond the therapeutic relationship, causing them to become protective or overly involved with the client. Such an experience can lead to a lack of objectivity in therapy, making it difficult to separate personal feelings from helping the client adequately.
Another subjective countertransference issue that may emerge during group therapy is emotional exhaustion. Facilitating a group therapy session requires emotional investment, and therapists may find themselves feeling drained at the end of the day. Emotional exhaustion can leave therapists feeling irritable, unmotivated, and emotionally disconnected from the clients they serve. This can lead to reduced empathy and engagement in therapy, which can harm the therapeutic relationship and negatively impact the client's
Therapist met with the client for individual therapy at school. Therapist did a check in regards to symptoms, mood, thoughts, emotions, coping skills, the goals that he achieved, and behaviors since the last session. Therapist processed the client's negative thoughts. Therapist used open-ended questions to address any concerns the client may have. Therapist encouraged the client to keep motivated during the stressful time, especially when he has negative thoughts, which stats usually with negative thoughts, argue with his sisters, or with his aunt, or if he has been triggered by any internal or external thoughts.
The text book, The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy by Irvin D. Yalom with Molyn Leszcz begins with the preface of the fifth edition. In the preface, Irvin D. Yalom introduced Molyn Leszcz as his collaborator and how they met at Stanford University in 1980. He then discussed how they both worked hard collaboratively to combine old and new material to make this edition. Their goals for this edition were to prepare student therapists for the present-day workplace and to keep the current methods from decaying, so that students can gather wisdom and techniques of the field when they get the opportunity to utilize those methods as therapists. Yalom briefly talked about what each chapter in the text would discuss.
Therapists must access their own internal process such as their feelings, attitudes and moods. Therapists’, who are not receptive to the awareness of their flow of thoughts and feelings, will not be able to help clients be aware of theirs (Kahn, 1997, p. 40). Though congruence does not mean that therapists have to share personal issues with clients, a therapist must not conceal their inner process from the client, and not be defensive but transparent (Kahn, 1997, p. 41). By being open sometimes a therapist learns more not only about their client but about themselves
Team members can then form an agreement on the prospective goals and processes involved in their treatment. This process allows the leader to create a therapeutic environment where the members can feel free to disclose their feeling about the therapy. Forming therapeutic inter-relationships between the group leader and members is vital in any working relationship whether voluntary or
Many theories of group counselling have borrowed ideas and approaches from psychoanalysis. The primary aim of the analytic process is reorganize the client’s personality and character structure. This aim is attained by making unconscious conflicts conscious and analysing them. Wolf (1963, 1975) developed group applications of fundamental psychoanalytic approaches such as working with transference, free association, dreams, and the historical factors of existing behaviour. The group leader relates understanding to the family-like relations that emerge among the members and between the members and the therapist.