Running therapeutic groups: The basics

This webinar is relevant to people from any professional background. This webinar is designed as an opportunity to develop the basic knowledge and skills necessary to run therapeutic groups. Participants from different groups such as psychoeducational, CBT, skills-based could benefit from this webinar.

The webinar will be led by Dr Daniel Anderson (Consultant Psychiatrist and Group Analyst) and co-facilitated by Dr Javier Malda Castillo (Clinical Psychologist and Group Analytic Practitioner).

Issues for exploration in the webinar will include:

• When are groups a good option?
• Assessment for group candidates.
• The organisational setting.
• Facilitating Dialogue.
• Managing difficult topics in groups.

It is expected that this webinar will enhance your group facilitating skills. There will be a focus on considering the different factors that promote effective group facilitating practices. The webinar will be divided as follows:

a) Introductions and housekeeping (15 minutes)

b) Lecture (75 minutes)

c) Informal group discussion, questions and reflections (30 minutes)

Key texts:

• Barns, B., Ernst, S., & Hyde. K. (1999). An introduction to groupwork: a group analytic perspective
• Yalom, I. (1985). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy.
• Behr, H. & Hearst, L. (2005). Group Analytic Psychotherapy: A meeting of minds

About the speakers

Dr Daniel (Dan) Anderson is a consultant psychiatrist, group analyst and medical psychodynamic psychotherapist working in the NHS at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in the department of psycho-oncology and in private practice online, in Chester, and in Manchester. Dan previously has worked as the medical director of an independent hospital in York and has held substantive and honorary academic positions at the Institute of Mental Health (University of Nottingham), Bangor University, and the University of Central Lancashire.

Dan is now an honorary research fellow in the division of cancer sciences at the University of Manchester and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Dan recently completed his PhD at the University of Manchester’s Institute of Education which was based on his experience of training as a group analyst and the issues this raised for him surrounding sexuality and gender.

He has an interest in complex PTSD and its relationship to cancer care, and in the value of community and relationships in the therapeutic approaches to mental illness. He is hoping his book The Body of the Group: Sexuality and Gender in Group Analysis will be published later this year.

Dr Javier Malda Castillo is the clinical lead/manager of a psychotherapy service in the NHS. He is a UK trained Clinical Psychologist, group analytic practitioner and accredited MBT therapist by the Anna Freud Centre. He gained accredited training in Intensive Short-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy through Attachment-Based ISTDP-UK London and is currently a psychodynamic psychotherapy trainee in the Tavistock Clinic.

*Refund: Tickets are non-refundable.