Monday, August 27, 2007

Support groups and Group Therapy

I don't think I've posted in my psychology tag since school let out. School starts today. It amuses me that I will work until 4:00 p.m., go to my class on group therapy, and then go to a support group for people who are "coming out". I am experiencing group therapy from both ends.

I've been in groups before that were to help me learn about group therapy. [wikipedia on group therapy]. Mostly it's been unstructured type of stuff and based on the work of Yalom. I hope this will be a bit different, although again the textbook is Yalom. I can't seem to get away from that guy! To be perfectly honest I prefer when there is a tangible group leader and a bit of structure. But it seems that there are advantages and disadvantages to leader as equal verses leader as leader which my schooling seems to want me to take note of. The professors for this course drive me crazy because they are very Gestalt. Which is of course unstructured.

Anyway at the very least I will get to learn about group therapy and support groups from both ends and I think this can only be a good thing. If I were the therapist to someone like me who was coming out, no matter how good they were doing, I'd tell them to go to a support group. So here I go.

And be forewarned, since I'm in family system therapy and group therapy this term that is what I will probably start blogging more about. It allows me to reflect on what I'm learning.

In other news, this weekend beyond watching all the neighbors (see yesterday's post) included watching movies. The "Borne Supremacy" and "But I'm a cheerleader" [YouTube Trailer]. Both were good. "But, I'm a cheerleader" made me feel faint and my arms went numb. Um. In a good way?

3 comments:

Zuzu said...

Maybe you'll come out to Marin to do an internship at the Center for Attitudinal Healing? It would be awesome if you were near by for a spell! - Zu

titration said...

Don't tempt me! I adore the whole area way too much. Or maybe do tempt me... Alas.

Anonymous said...

I watched "But I'm a cheerleader" and "Kissing Jessica Stein" over and over when I was first coming out. Not great cinema, but they touched my own story in certain ways, and I needed connections to others at that point!
freyasings