Peter Zelaskowski
Psychotherapist & Lecturer (UB & UAB)
BA (Hons), PGCE, Dip. Gr. Psych.
UKCP Registered
Psychotherapist
CLINICAL MEMBER Universities Psychotherapy and Counselling
Association (Membership No. 1377)
MEMBER International Association for Group Psychotherapy and Group
Processes
Group
Analytic Psychotherapy
How does it work? A maximum of eight people and a psychotherapist, seated in a
circle, meeting once or twice a week,
for 90 minutes, at the same time/s and in the same place.
There
is no formal agenda. There is no system
for dividing the group time fairly. It
is down to each member and the group.
Communication takes place through 'free floating discussion'. This
allows you to talk at your own pace about what's bothering you. One week you might choose to talk, another
week you might choose to listen.
People are greatly influenced by
their experiences in the complex family, social and cultural groups where they
have grown up. Group analytic
psychotherapy works from an understanding that problems which originate within
groups can be treated effectively in groups.
Relationships with other group
members Your relationships with the other people in the group, including
the psychotherapist, how you respond and how you are responded to, are of
central importance in this form of psychotherapy. It is essentially psychotherapy
of the group, by the group.
On joining a group you are asked to
commit yourself to confidentiality, by not talking about the group outside the
group. In addition, participants are
asked to avoid social contact with other group members. This is in order to
safeguard the privacy of all participants and to maximize the potential for
saying the things that are normally so difficult to give voice to in everyday
life.
Leaving People leave the group at a time negotiated with the group - with
a minimum of a months notice. The group
itself, however, continues indefinitely, taking on new members to replace those
who have left.
Group analytic psychotherapy is
essentially a set of relationships that will enable you to:
Ø Take a good look at yourself;
Ø Face up to what's difficult;
Ø Get things off your chest;
Ø Learn that you are not alone;
Ø Work out solutions;
Ø Make changes;
Ø Develop more satisfying relationships;
Ø Feel that you have more control over the quality and direction of
your life.
Group Psychotherapy WEB LINKS
http://www.group-psychotherapy.com
American Group Psychotherapy Association
Phone: (0034) 628 915 040
e-mail: peterzelaskowski@groupworks.info