GROUP TREATMENT
ANALYSIS AND NEW DECISIONS
Problems are solvable; it is possible to get what you want and need. To do this you must learn how to experience intimacy in your relationships.
This adult group meets on a weekly basis (7-9 people):
Monday: 5:30pm to 7pm
with Andrew Archer“The object of Group Treatment is to fight the past in the present in order to assure the future.”
—Eric Berne
ABOUT GROUP THERAPY
After an assessment and then an initial orientation to the methods, constructs, and expectations of group treatment, you are invited to attend a single group session. The group is a social situation where everyone is expected to communicate with one another in a “healthy” manner. This means intimate connections and an appropriate appraisal of their immediate environment. Members help and encourage each other to operate independent of their cultural conditioning or “scripting,” and to deal with emotions. The group is a place to get what you need by asking for what you want and refusing what you don’t.
The weekly group process will teach you—and the other members—how to (1) be more mindful in order to better understand yourself, (2) help you analyze your relational patterns that are problematic and (3) teach you to identify the story in your head that you are following. The aim of the group, is to start thinking for yourself and to become autonomous (social and mental control): to put a new show on the road!
You are probably thinking, “I don’t like the idea of groups.” Groups of people scare us, but that is not a reason to not join the group. If we transform our fear into courage, groups of people provide nourishment and reassurance. These groups are different than supportive therapy groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), a grief group, or an eating disorders group. All of my patients are allowed to join, so these are heterogenous groups of folks. The other question you might have is, “Why not just do individual therapy?” Individual therapy has one major limitation: the therapist does not observe how you interact and socialize with others. Simply put, the therapist sees the private you and not the public you. Group treatment facilitates an opportunity for me to see what you do when you encounter other people.
For example, what games do you play? Eric Berne commented on the group process: “One object of a therapy group is to find out how people go about presenting themselves to each other.” This is what I am interested in. Therefore, our observations and understandings from individual therapy are accelerated by the analysis of the experiences in the group, and vice versa.
“Transactional Analysis deals with what actually happens rather than with what is going on in the minds of the individuals concerned.”
—Eric Berne, MD,
The Structure & Dynamics of Organizations & Groups
GROUP THERAPY
Andrew Archer, LICSW
Andrew Archer founded Minnesota Mental Health Services in 2017. He is a clinical social worker, writer, podcaster, instructor, and national speaker. His treatment groups provide a rich social experience to figure out who you are, what makes you tick, and what you planned for yourself as a young child. Andrew has been practicing psychotherapy with individuals, families, and groups for over 17 years. If you would like more information about these groups, please contact Andrew to learn more.
“Group is a safe space to share your smallest and biggest concerns. The environment is warm and inviting. We help each other learn through Transactional Analysis using parent, adult and child.”
—27 Year Old, Patient