In reading about the diverse therapeutic approaches described in Samuel Gladding's (2003) Group Work and Linda Metcalf's (1998) Solution Focused Group Therapy, I am struck by their commonalities. Regardless of the differences in their underlying premises and their emphases on specific aspects of the clients' lives, group therapy challenges the group members to: a) utilize their imagination in a spontaneous fashion; b) focus their thoughts and energies on the present; and c) move out of their comfort zone in expressing themselves and interacting with fellow group members. To me, it would appear as though these specific components of the therapeutic process may hold the key to the effectiveness of the therapies, rather than the unique theoretical aspects that distinguish one group therapeutic approach from another. In the remainder of this paper, I will address each of the three aforementioned commonalities and explain why I think they are helpful in enabling clients to overcome their issues.
Whether it is through dream analysis in psychoanalytic groups (Gladding, 2003, p. 352), experiments in gestalt groups (p. 417), behavioral rehearsals in behavioral groups (p. 451), or even the rating of symptoms in solution focused groups (Metcalf, 1998, p. 122), clients are essentially challenged to utilize their imagination. Instead of adopting conventional thinking processes that take place in the transaction of daily group, members in group therapy are asked to picture themselves and consider their situations, whether past, present or future, in a novel way.
In our daily lives, as we are caught up in the pressures of fulfilling obligations and engaging in mundane routines, we often do not have the luxury of stepping back and reflecting critically or creatively about our concerns, problems and desires. The group therapy environment essentially provides members with an ideal setting that is distanced from the daily realities, which s...