In case you’ve been on the fence, wondering why psychotherapy? and especially, in case you’re wondering why group psychotherapy? With so many opportunities for self-help, self-empowerment, life-coaching, etc. one might be tempted to ask: Why do we need psychology at all? One of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Lesser author of The Seeker’s Guide: Making Your Life A Spiritual Adventure. New York: Villard Publishing, 1999, has this to say:

“Psychotherapy and psychological theory give the spiritual seeker additional tools to mine the psyche for self-judgment, self-loathing, and self-blindness. They teach us how to have mercy on ourselves, how to heal, and how to open up.”

Recently, I started facilitating groups again, and I absolutely love it… and so do the participants. They are reporting that they could have never believed they would so look forward to this type of weekly gathering. They are just beginning to notice that group therapy achieves the following goals much quicker than individual psychotherapy.

Group therapy is a process in which a number of people (usually no more than fifteen) gather with a trained psychotherapist to not only achieve the goals mentioned below, but also to reduce their suffering and thereby improve their quality-of-life (QOL). The following list includes some of the positive benefits of group therapy with Celestial Psychology®.

• Emotional and spiritual growth through the processes of catharsis, modeling, and reduction of the negative Egoic-Mind Paradigm (EMP)
• Instill hope, a sense of belonging, approval, and acceptance
• Discover commonality and universality
• Problem solve for self and others
• Create bonds and boundaries
• Build trust, natural empathy, and altruism
• Increase coping, communication, and stress & anger management skills
• Explore and accept the spiritual and multi-dimensional realities of self and others

Group therapy is recommended when:

• Problems are best treated in a social context
• Peer group pressure may enhance the effectiveness of problem solving
• Continued ongoing support and structure is essential to deal with chronic problems
• Creating bonds or learning about the impact one has on others is important for symptom resolution and growth
• Imparting useful solutions may be better heard from peers.

You are invited to participate in this ongoing open-ended psychodynamic group therapy, based on the Integrative/Eclectic approach outlined in Celestial Psychology®. This body of work is founded on the conviction that human beings are capable of changing for the better and are evolving into higher spiritual beings, via the most profound vehicle for change—Consciousness-Raising.

 * “Psychotherapy is the highest form of treatment, because all healing comes from the mind.” ACIM

All materials for Celestial Psychology® are Copyrighted© 2015 and not to be duplicated without express permission from the author.