For many years, group therapy has been the preferred mode of treating adults who had sexually abused, quite simply because it is more efficient—in terms of both time and cost—than individual treatment. Today, however, we know that group treatment is about so much more than treating many clients at once.

This online training focuses on how treatment providers can create and facilitate high-functioning treatment groups that benefit clients and improve treatment outcomes. It outlines what works in group treatment and what the research evidence has shown. Areas such as group cohesion, the therapeutic alliance, and how member interactions deepen the group’s impact on each group member form the center of this training’s discussions.

Topics covered include:

• Group treatment as a safe space for making difficult changes.
• The evidence base that supports the benefits of group-based treatment.
• Essential elements of effective groups.
• Group facilitation techniques.
• Clinical issues, including topics such as “myopic thinking” and resisting the urge to intercede or micromanage clients’ daily lives feeling overly responsible for outcomes.

This training further explores how to build adherence to a well-defined, clearly communicated structure for creating an effective group atmosphere. It reviews significant moments that occur in groups and various scenarios that training participants can expect. Special attention will be given to the challenges this work can create for clinicians; for example, knowing when to intercede and when to resist the urge to micromanage clients’ interactions and unwittingly impair group processes.