Co-Facilitating Group Therapy: Personal Narrative

It was rather an uneventful week. I still struggle with facilitating and co-facilitating group therapy. I think I am becoming less uncomfortable, but still anxiously nervous. Every time I need to say something, give feedback, or ask a question, I overthink in my head and wonder if it is the right thing to say, if it is going to be helpful, or rather sound silly. The thing that stands out most is my frustration when my groups become “individual sessions with audience”. Even if I try to bring it back to we-centered theme, involve others, and encourage group thinking, some people tend to monopolize the group time, and I just feel that it is a wasted time. Co-facilitating seems to make group running a little easier, but only if I and the other

therapist are in-tune. Generally, we are, but sometimes I lead groups with other interns (supervisors are observing), who, like me, are still learning about themselves, about group dynamics, and leading groups may look more like power struggles. I don’t think it is conscious, but rather stems from “theoretical” clashes and different personalities; e.g. I do not mind silence in groups, but when I co-lead with someone who finds silence to be uncomfortable, she will immediately start asking questions to fill the awkward silence. As a result, it looks like I need to be ‘rescued’ because I cannot think of anything to say, when the reality is that I allow quiet time to experience emotions and process thoughts. I guess this is one of the disadvantages of group co-leading, and there is no other solution to that than to accept it, learn from it, and, if possible, avoid co-leading with incompatible people.