The Alternative Story is launching a long-term online therapy group for anyone that might be interested to join. The group will meet every week, 4 PM to 5:30 PM on Wednesdays, starting on the June 1, 2022. The group will be facilitated by a mental health practitioner, who’s currently training in group analytic psychotherapy, and who will be supervised by a senior group analyst throughout the process.
The number of participants in the group is capped at eight. The program cost, inclusive of 18% GST, is Rs 508/- per session. Payment can be made on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis.
What can I expect from this group?
This group is a space where you can think about yourself, in the company of others instead of all on your own.
Why group therapy?
The founder of group analysis, SH Foulkes, reasons that as our difficulties arise in group spaces, it makes sense that these are best explored, understood, and changed in a group context too.
Group therapy is just another form of therapeutic intervention, that recognizes that the problem is not necessarily located in the individual but in the larger systems and relationships that they find themselves a part of.
This format is best suited for individuals who are curious about themselves and wish to work on their concerns in a safe and genuine environment.
Individual therapy creates an exclusive safe space between two people, an ideal setting that’s very different from our everyday encounters. A group setting offers an opportunity to truly explore the idea of a safe space and also to think about how one creates safety in their own relationships. In collectivistic cultures like our own, the group mirrors our experiences more realistically than an individual setting.
There is something truly beautiful about being held in the mind of many rather than just one.
Group work can also help challenge the self-absorption that can accompany long-term individual therapy and offers the opportunity to explore the interpersonal aspect of our lives.
By accessing group therapy, members can begin to feel—a sense of belonging, less lonely in their distress, and more heard and seen. In doing so, the group helps one grow an awareness of their patterns of relating with others in their own personal lives. It is a rewarding yet challenging way to try and understand our deeply layered selves better, and to learn about how we develop and come to be in our relationships with others.
The group experience can teach us about how we affect and are affected by one another, as individuals embedded in our many group contexts – families, friends, workplaces, communities etc.
Your presence means a lot to other people who are counting on your support, so please join the group only if you can commit to attending almost every meeting.
Register for the group here.