group

group therapy (noun) : the place where individuals sit at a table filled with food possessing only extra long utensils that prevent them from bringing food to their mouths and therefore they go hungry
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Ideally, these people eventually are supposed to learn to feed each other with those same utensils. You may have heard this story as the difference between heaven and hell - it's the same thing really.

Joining a group helps the therapist see how you actually interact with others (and not rely simply on what you tell him or her). More importantly, the group dynamic is supposed to present the individuals with a safe place to hear how you communicate or act and how you are perceived, in case you want to make some changes here. Nice theory but very difficult to do with a group of people who all have different issues that they are working through. One basic and recurring theme is the need to feel heard and understood.

In an episode of the US reality television show, Survivor, the host Jeff Probst actually showed how group therapy works best (and to his or his producer's credit, he even noted this). Take a look at tribal council on episode 10 - http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/
and Jeff's input as to his role as therapist -
http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/04/21/jeff-probst-on-episode-10-of-survivor-redemption-island/

Until next time...

The Id

id (noun) : 1. part of the psyche that acts on pleasure and immediate gratification; 2. short for idiot
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Many times self-examination isn't a pleasant journey. If we're honest, we usually discover that we aren't such nice people after all. And we don't get to blame even half of our unpleasantness on our parents, unfortunately. (I've tried, believe me.)

I've been in group therapy where some members of the group never came to that realization. They believed (perhaps still do) that everyone else is mean to them, resentful and jealous of them, and bitter towards them. All about other people's faults and not so much about their own.

Perhaps it's true that others were resentful, jealous and bitter (or maybe that's just how I felt about them). But that doesn't mean that they weren't assholes hell-bent on succumbing to their urges and blaming other people for it. Like most of us.