ABSTRACT

“Can anyone give me a ride to group next week? My car will be in the shop.” So began a seemingly innocuous request by Laura, a member of the weekly therapy group I led. But the request made me sit up and pay close attention. From the time I began leading the group a few months before, I had made the rules quite clear, and one of them prohibited contact between members outside of group. I was somewhat terrified at the first challenge to my authority—I was a novice group therapist, and my knowledge was mostly theoretical.