This less-structured group, which meets twice weekly, provides patients with the opportunity to speak about their internal thoughts, feelings, and experiences with their peers in a way that they are not likely to do in their day-to-day life experiences. A core component of this group is to bring the treatment group to life as a community, giving patients an experience of themselves in the social world. Everyone is encouraged to practice how to communicate authentically and to listen to their peers in a meaningful way. Group members have the opportunity to experience/practice building trust, to give and receive feedback, and give and receive support from the relationships that are created.
This group has been described by our clients as groundbreaking in their treatment journey — (1) inviting them to resolve conflict with their peers and witness peers resolve conflict with each other and (2) allowing them to communicate in new and more effective ways, leaving them feeling more confident to successfully navigate relationships outside of the therapy environment. In the end, the Interpersonal Process groups provide a safe space for patients to practice and integrate skills learned in other groups, share their histories and how they’ve come to understand themselves from past to present, and begin to generalize what they’ve learned in order to return more skillful and confident to the world beyond therapy.