Group Process Training Program

The program has an experiential character and aims at providing the members with the opportunity for active learning and exercising their comprehension of group process as it evolves at multiple levels and through different stages.

It focuses on the self-development of each member in the role of “group process coordinator”, who, from a responsible position (as therapist, trainer or consultant), safeguards the appropriate establishment and development of group process and contributes in the group’s course towards its target, acting as a positive catalyst.

Specific Targets for the participants:

• Comprehending and obtaining training on how group process is established, how it evolves from one phase to another, and how it settles at each stage and at the end of its course.
• Self-understanding as an integral member of the evolving group process
• Appreciating the significance of the context and of the wider hierarchy of contexts in which the process is embedded and learning to observe and actualize mutual interaction and co-evolution.
• Learning to listen to the imports and the sequence of issues and meanings expressed by group members and by the group as a whole, at each session and to find their connections in a sequence of sessions
• Becoming familiar with principles of the Systemic Multilevel Multifocal Dialectic Approach that develops at AIA, – as they pertain to group process – as well as with relevant techniques, such as the Synallactic Group Image Technique or the Group Forming Procedure.
• Becoming familiar with the relevant bibliography on theoretical approaches and studies of group process. Athenian Institute of Anthropos p.26
• Studying specific issues relevant to group process such as: group composition, preparation of members, starting, interrupting and ending, confronting crisis, leader’s selfdisclosure, roles, boundaries, analogic means of expression, cultural differences etc.
• Writing a paper, upon completion of the program, on an issue relevant to group process.

• Exercising in leading the group process, during sessions.
• Studying group process through a systematic observation of groups and the analysis of incidents that the trainers or the members bring to the sessions from their own contexts.
• Coordinating small groups in educational contexts or in other activities.
• Observing, keeping notes and studying group process through the role of trainee-therapist in a therapeutic team.
• Participating in a “Practice activity in Group Process” in a context within or outside AIA, which involves designing, contextualizing, carrying through and evaluating a specific application of group process, in cooperation with other trainees and under the supervision of the trainers.
• Studying relevant theory and research and creatively presenting group issues, along with co-trainees.
• Studying and learning from their peer cooperation with cotrainees in carrying out all the above.
• Writing a paper, upon completion of the program, on an issue relevant to group process.

The Group Process Training Program is addressed to scientists, with some professional experience working with groups, who wish to establish and develop further the skill to utilize group process as a tool for training, prevention, therapy or consultation, within their professional context, in community services, therapeutic or training centers, and other organizations.

Seminars