ABSTRACT
A theory of counseling or psychotherapy should guide practitioners in the way they treat their clients. The group should be an intimate place where children and adolescents can gain a sense of well being and grow personally. This implies that group participants are expected to talk freely about their disturbing thoughts and feelings, release tension, and, if possible, develop insight and make some behavioral change. To achieve such personal goals, the group should be a caring and supportive place in which members are accepted and understood. W. E. Piper and colleagues introduced the distinction between interpretive–expressive and supportive therapy for inpatients and outpatients in individual and group formats. The group identified the real emotion and shared mutual feelings that provided Jack with some sense of power. The power of the expressive–supportive model clearly emerges from this case: when emotions are expressed rather than suppressed, the client's emotional health improves.
