ABSTRACT
As social mammals, we humans are dependent creatures who rely on others throughout our lives. Group psychotherapy offers a contained, yet dynamic social environment to explore the human condition. Group therapy serves as a microcosm of life and inevitably triggers fearful subjective experiences for members. When humans perceive danger, limbic arousal, primarily in the amygdala, produces a fight, flight, or freeze response, which prepares us for threats. In group therapy, the leader and other members, via empathic right-brain, non-conscious attunement, offer a co-regulatory function for members who become hyper-aroused. This chapter highlights some opportunities for building interpersonal intimacy in groups using a developmental growth model that embraces the experience of hunger and longing. Creating a group culture of mindfulness, which is a compassionate, non-judgmental observation of the present moment, offers a useful starting point for growth and change.
