It is normal to feel anxious about being in groups. Almost everyone experiences it to some extent. One way of dealing with this is to talk about it at an early point in the group. This is a good model of the usefulness of talking about things so that they can be clarified and the anxiety related to them reduced.

It is the role of the leader to encourage members to talk with each other and to help keep the group focused on important tasks. The leader is not there to supply ready answers to specific problems. One of the things you will experience in group is learning to benefit from the process of talking with other people and not just getting pat answers.

Try hard to put into words the connection between how you are reacting or feeling and what is happening between you and other people both in the group and outside. It is all right to be emotional. This process of trying to understand reactions or symptoms in terms of relationships is important.

Many group members find themselves experiencing a sense of puzzlement or discouragement after the excitement of the first few group sessions. Please stick with it through this stage. It almost always occurs, and it reflects the fact that it always takes groups some time to develop their full benefit for the members. Once the group has experienced this, it is in a much stronger position to be helpful.

From time to time in the group, you may find yourself having negative feelings of disappointment, frustration, or even anger. It is important to talk about these reactions in a constructive fashion. Many people have difficulty with managing these sorts of feelings, and it is part of the group's tasks to examine them. Sometimes these negative feelings may be toward the leader. It is equally important that these also be talked about.

Try hard to apply what you learn in group to outside situations. Many group members have found it very useful to talk to the group about how they might go about applying what they are learning, then try it outside in their personal lives and report back to the group about how it went. Studies have shown that the more you can do this, the more therapy becomes "real" and the more you will get out of it. At the same time, remember that the rest of the world does not necessarily run the same way as a therapy group. Try out your ideas in the group first to test if your plans are well thought out.

Group Rules -->