ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the accumulated knowledge on group counseling and psychotherapy with children and adolescents based on the clinical experience and research findings of the author's colleagues and himself. The author agree with I. D. Yalom and M. Leszcz that, to specialize in a specific type of group, one needs to know first the basic group therapy principles. When assessing the clinical situation, one needs to consider setting, group composition, age, specific problem, length of treatment, and group size. The most common setting for group work with children is the school. A related issue is confidentiality; in a setting where participants know each other and spend time with each other on a continuing basis, confidentiality is a major threat. Friends help reduce the level of anxiety at the earlier group stages, provide constant emotional support, and sometimes protect a child from others' pressure, negative feedback in the group, or bullies outside of the group.
