Group Therapy is My Expertise
I practice social therapy, a group approach to psychotherapy. I see life in relational terms, a world of complex and rich relational activity that makes up our life experience. Learning to grow and being creative with others is essential to living life fully and joyfully.
As a teacher and trainer in group therapy, I have seen many people with emotional challenges achieve amazing success in a group therapeutic approach.
Why would someone consider group therapy?
We live our lives in groups – whether that is our family, our relationship with our partner or spouse, or our team at work. When we experience emotional problems, the disconnect between us and those around us, sometimes the ones we love, becomes even more intense and increases our emotional pain. Group therapy is a place where you can develop your capacity to interact, connect, learn from and give to others.
Who comes into group therapy?
In individual, couples and family therapy we help people out of crisis and identify the ways they are stuck in their emotional development. Group therapy is where you get to work on going beyond your current emotional development and create new ways of being emotionally. Some people choose just to do individual, couples or family therapy, and others decide to come into group for a fuller and more intensive experience.
What does group therapy offer?
The group experience offers people a way to learn how to develop their capacity to interact, connect, listen to, learn from and give to others. Group offers the ongoing support of a social network, where you learn to be a leader in creating the environments you need to grow and develop in your everyday life.
How does group therapy work?
As the group grows, the individual grows. You come away with a deeper awareness of self and others. In group, you try out new emotional responses, experience multiple perspectives, create new ways of communicating, and deal productively with intense emotions. You develop emotional strengths, improving skills needed to build healthy relationships.
How is group therapy helpful?
Group is a powerful and effective approach to helping people grow. Many people have experienced group therapy as having had a profound impact on their emotional pain, making it possible to live richer and more fulfilling lives.
Some topics we address in group therapy:
•Group Therapy for Recovery
•Group Therapy for Personality Disorders
•Group Therapy for Self Destructive Behavior
•Group Therapy for Social Anxiety/Social Phobia
•Group Therapy for Anxiety and Panic
•Group Therapy for Assertiveness
•Group Therapy for Depression
•Group Therapy for Career/Employment
•Group Therapy for Male Development
•Group Therapy for Codependency
•Group therapy for Trauma, Grief and Loss
•Group therapy for Women’s Issues
Group Therapy for Recovery
Once you have made the important life decisions to eliminate destructive behavior, such as the destructive effects of drugs or alcohol, what do you do to grow? We offer group experiences that support you to learn more about your relationship to others, growing in your capacity for more intimate involvement with others, and develop experiences that support personal, emotional, and spiritual growth.
Group Therapy for Personality Disorders
Our groups combine mindful, here-and-now experiences along with honest, loving support to help you to grow in areas you may not have thought possible. Learning about your impact on others, what to do with the intense emotional experiences you go through and seeing how others impact on you, can constitute a crucial break-out from your self-absorbed emotional life. Social therapy has helped people grow beyond personality disorders to a full, enriching, and growthful life with others.
Group Therapy for Self-Destructive Behavior
People often engage in self-destructive behavior as a way to deal with, shame, pain, and the ramifications of painful life experiences. While group therapy cannot prevent you from engaging in self-destructive behavior, it can help you to develop the ability to make new choices.
Group Therapy for Social Anxiety/Social Phobia
In a group, you have a supportive context to be more open with others, to become comfortable with the discomfort of relating to others, and to become aware of the impact that you may have on others. Group is the gym where you develop your emotional and social muscles, helping you relate to others more effectively.
Group Therapy for Anxiety and Panic
Many people have found group therapy helpful to break out of the sense of intense isolation that accompanies and generates a feeling of panic. We can help you to relate to the normal experiences of anxiety and gain control of your emotional response. We help people to learn that emotion is something that you do rather than something that happens to you, allowing you to choose new performances.
Group Therapy for Assertiveness
Group helps you to be more assertive by teaching you to be a leader in your life; to communicate honestly, directly and openly in all your relationships. Group members learn the impact they have on each other and become accountable. Group is a place to develop a greater sense of connectedness with others and to develop a sense of power and usefulness in your relationships.
Group Therapy for Depression
Depression has become a significant cultural fact in our society. People have found group therapy to be enormously helpful in renewing connection to life and to a sense of purposefulness. The alienation that we experience in our relationships is challenged by the intimacy of the group setting, giving you an opportunity to create new meaning in your life.
Group Therapy for Career/Employment
People often find themselves stuck in a rut at work, finding it difficult to use their creativity or passion professionally. When it comes to creating new career choices or reinvigorating one’s passion for work, group offers a playground for people to develop new life directions.
Group Therapy for Male Development
Men often come into therapy feeling disconnected from their close friends and love partners, and are unable to communicate well emotionally. Group is an environment where men learn more about how to develop relationships that are meaningful and challenging.
Group Therapy for Codependency
Many people deal with problems of relating to others in ways that are out of touch with their needs and boundaries. This is particularly true in very close relationships, such as with family members. Saying “yes” to others can mean losing your sense of who you are. Social therapy group helps you to create relationships where you learn to say “yes” in a way that is healthier and more powerful.
Group Therapy for Trauma, Grief and Loss
One painful aspect of trauma and loss is the intensity of loneliness and isolation. This can exacerbate the impact of a traumatic event or loss. We are taught to contain these feelings at work and with family and friends. People learn in group how to share their painful feelings and experiences in ways that build intimacy, create connection, and are nurturing to self and others.
Group Therapy for Women’s Issues
Even in today’s culture, women may hold back from being a leader, from being assertive and straightforward, both with men and other women. It is not uncommon for women to feel constrained by role expectations and the judgments of others. Group offers a supportive place to learn how to be more direct and honest, to be less concerned with how one is viewed, and to create an environment for producing more meaningful and powerful relationships.
Murray Dabby is a Relationship Coach and Atlanta-based psychotherapist located at 1758-B Century Boulevard, Atlanta, Georgia 30345
Phone 404-633-3282, fax 404-982-0997.
Murray Dabby is also Director of Atlanta Center for Social Therapy and is a certified as a relationship coach by the Relationship Coaching Institute.