Group Therapy Training Program

The Group Therapy Training Program (GTTP) is a one-year training program offering an in-depth study of the theory and practice of group therapy facilitation. The faculty includes senior group therapists and experts in group psychotherapy from TPI and the larger Bay Area community. GTTP is fully accessible virtually via Zoom.

The Group Therapy Training Program (GTTP) at TPI is a program in which to develop an understanding of group dynamics, as well as adding group therapy facilitation to your repertoire of clinical skills. GTTP weaves psychodynamic and group-as-a-whole orientations together, which provide an immersion experience. Group therapy is a highly effective form of treatment that can deepen a clinician's work with individuals and enhance one's practice. 

We offer a unique opportunity for group leaders in the San Francisco Bay Area to get excellent group therapy training in one cohesive, year-long training. Our faculty is composed of recognized group therapy experts, many of whom are TPI members. The faculty work closely with leaders in the group therapy field who are members of the Northern California Group Psychotherapy Society (NCGPS). Together, all these skilled clinicians collaborate to provide training in group process, group roles, dynamics, and developmental stages and using group-level methods to provide excellent therapy for group members.

Time Commitment This program is designed to accommodate a busy schedule. Each week, participants spend 1.5 hours in a process learning group and one hour in individual consultation. Seminar courses meet one Saturday per month for a maximum of 5 hours. Training hours in the GTTP can be applied to Certified Group Psychotherapist (CGP) certification.

Our program looks like this: 

  • Weekly Process Learning Group (PLG) This weekly group experience demonstrates the development of a group from the position of being a group member and, at the same time, learning about group facilitation through the modeling of the leaders. Its purpose is educational because it provides a forum for students to work together on the material being learned and experience being in a group.

    For the 2025-2026 year, the weekly process learning group will meet on Tuesdays from 11:45 am-1:15 pm via Zoom, beginning on Tuesday, October 14th, 2025.

    The first 6 months (Oct 2025-March 2026) will be led by Natashia Fuksman with a Modern Analytic Group Therapy framework and critical psychology and somatic orientations. The leaders for the second six months will be Laura Kasper and Shanon Sitkin.

  • Individual Consultation Each person is assigned a personal consultant skilled in individual and group work. The consultant’s role is to provide the necessary support and knowledge to facilitate the student’s learning. A meeting time is set between the consultant and the GTTP student. Some consultants may be available to meet in person in their office.

  • Monthly Seminar The three-hour seminars are held on a Saturday morning from 9 am-12 pm (generally the second Saturday of each month) and are led by a different expert each month.  Participants receive 3 CE credits, and the topics cover a range of issues such as:

    • Assessment of individuals for group treatment

    • Skills and techniques for setting up a group

    • Unconscious processes underlying a group

    • Stages in a groups development and techniques in facilitating the progress of these stages

    • Matters of racial, national, and sexual diversity

    • Specific theoretical contributions to understanding group work

    • Use of the self and co-leadership in a group.

  • Group Development Course (GDC) This monthly group supports participants in developing and maintaining their own groups through readings, vignettes, and group consultation. Topics include "nuts and bolts" elements like marketing, recruitment, assessment, and consultation around clinical issues that arise in groups. The GDC meets on Saturdays, after the monthly Seminar workshops, from 1-2:30 pm. Mary Ann Kassier, LCSW, CGP, and Julia St. George, LCSW, CGP lead the class. Some of these classes might meet in a hybrid format whereby some can attend in person at TPI while others join on zoom.

Group Facilitation Experience Each student is encouraged to have hands-on experience facilitating a long-term group while in the program.

The goals of the GTTP are as follows:

  1. Learn the process and tasks of developing groups in private practice as well as organizational settings

  2. Understand the dynamics of groups as a whole and among the members and the functioning of leadership in a group.

  3. Develop the fundamentals and skills of psychodynamic group therapy.

  4. Identify and develop each participant’s unique style of group facilitation.

  5. Obtain experience in the facilitation of a psychotherapy group under supervision.

We invite you to consider applying to the GTTP to broaden your clinical skills and add the pleasures and rewards of group therapy to your professional experience. Let the myriad group experts from TPI and the wider Bay Area collaborate to provide you with experiential, theoretical, and practical training in psychodynamic group therapy facilitation skills.

The 2024/2025 training year has begun. The next training cohort will begin October 2025. The Application deadline has been extended to June 13th, 2025 because the leaders and time for the Process Learning Group are still being determined.

GTTP Information Meeting

      • The information meeting is scheduled for Friday, May 16, 2025 from 5:00-6:00 pm PST, via zoom. Click here to RSVP.

Application and Admissions

      • Access the application and admission procedures here