GROUP THERAPIES

T-Group/Encounter Group Therapies

T-Group/Encounter Group Therapies

Introduction

Group therapy is a concept in psychology in which a group of approximately 6-10 individuals are brought together n order to meet face to face in the presence of a trained professional. Members are given permission to talk of what they please, and the subject matter and intensity of the discussion is then analyzed and signs of progress are interpreted. Members of group therapy are also encouraged to give response to others in the group, so everyone participates in an equal manner. Meanwhile, a T-group is a training group that is sometimes referred to as sensitivity training group by psychotherapists. It is a form of therapy in which members are joined together in groups of varying numbers between 5 and 15, and are given the opportunity to learn about themselves through the connection they build with each other, and the small group activities involved in the therapy. It is a therapy based entirely on interaction, and feedback, and is used for problem solving as well as role playing in order to determine the personality traits of an individual. It was introduced in the 1940's by Kurt Levin who originated from Maine. He used it as a form of gaining insight into human behavior, and his followers pictured this form of therapy as a investigative method with an objective to alter the principles, outlooks as well as performance of persons. The T group was so deemed so successful that it was incorporated into educational syllabi and treatment schemes for psychiatric as well as non-psychiatric individuals (Shaffer and Galinsky, 1989).

Often times a T group begins with no explicit objective in mind, and the group comes together somewhat gingerly in their attempt to fit in and learn of each other. There may be a lack of structure and agenda in the beginning but facilitators provide encouragement to members of the group to open up about emotional responses that might arise in reaction to something other members of the group do, an action or a statement is enough to provide provocation to sensitive members, and facilitators urge the members to be explicit about how they might feel about certain actions, such as anger, envy or fear. The importance remains on sharing emotions, while it is strongly recommended to group members to hold back all judgments or jumping to conclusions. In this manner, T-group members can be trained about the power of their actions and words, and how they might trigger certain emotional responses in the individuals they converse with. While the initial training sessions were based on the development of group dynamics, now there are those with the aim of using the group to endeavor to be more overt in order to expand self-understanding and interpersonal communiqué. Businesses and industrial management teams would also use these techniques in the world place, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, in order to gain a proper understanding of how teams work, and that evolved into the current demand in business team building ...