Licensed and pre-licensed clinicians who:

Run groups or wish to run groups

Have had difficulty launching or maintaining groups

Want to study group dynamics as a powerful change agent

Wish to connect with a professional community

A range of applicants are welcome and we typically have some therapists in the cohort who are licensed and have an established practice, some who are working in an agency setting, and also some who have experience running groups, yet are still accruing hours toward licensure. Advanced Registered Interns are welcome.

This program provides advanced training in group therapy and Continuing Education hours. Training hours count toward the national Certified Group Psychotherapist (CGP) credential. The program is not designed for accumulating supervised hours towards licensure.

We cap the cohort enrollment at five to eight to maintain seminar style seminars, development of groups that you start/lead, and experiential learning in the Process Learning Group (PLG).

One year, starting in the Fall, including:

Monthly 3 Hour Seminar & 1.5 Hour Group Development Course

Weekly Process Learning Group that meets for a 1.5 hour session

Weekly Individual Consultation to be arranged with your consultant

Meetings and groups are hybrid or held on Zoom.

Weekly Process Learning Group

• Led by experienced psychodynamic group therapist

• Demonstrates the development of a group from the position of being a member

• Teaches group facilitation through the modeling of the leader

Monthly Seminars

• Introduce theories of group dynamics, developmental stages of groups, personality structures that affect groups, screening, diversity, establishing a group culture, and termination

• Cover several psychodynamic group theories-Yalom, Beck, Rutan, Modern Analytic, etc.-and their applications

Monthly Group Development Course

• Covers the "nuts and bolts" of starting a group: planning, marketing, member selection

• Faculty-led seminar with guest experts

• Topics and format are flexible to meet the cohort's needs

Weekly Individual Consultation

• Seasoned group therapists provide individual consultation

• Integrates program components into how you practice as a group therapist

$400/month for 12 months, which includes free membership at the Institute

The GTTP seminars include:

• Intro to group therapy

• Cultural Humility

• Yalom

• Beck

• Modern Analytic

• Termination

• Working with Aggression in Groups

• Therapist Reactions to Group Member's Terminations

• Group Treatment of Trauma

Our Expectation is that participants will come to all sessions of the Process Learning Group and seminar teachings unless there are extenuating circumstances. We make reasonable efforts to work something out with those who let us know ahead of time about unavoidable conflicts. It is recommended to avoid additional commitments and trainings during the Group Therapy Training Program year.

We do have participants who work in agencies and not in private practice and we encourage you to select the kind of group that you want to run. There is no requirement to run your group the same way as the process learning group. In fact, there is no requirement that you run a group to participate in this program.

Participants will learn how to select appropriate members and structure the type of group that is appropriate to their style and population. For example, participants have led expressive writing groups in assisted living, brief time-limited groups focused on a particular issue, inpatient support groups, and many other types.

This program is not designed for accumulating supervised hours towards licensure. Licensed clinicians will earn 2.5 hours of CE's per month.

Hours Count Towards Becoming a Certified Group Psychotherapist:

Training hours in the GTTP can be applied towards the American Group Psychotherapy Association’s Certified Group Psychotherapist (CGP) certification. Many of our faculty train group psychotherapists locally, nationally and internationally, as well as for the Northern California Group Psychotherapy Society, and the American Group Psychotherapy Association. Here is how the training hours in GTTP apply to CGP requirements:

• Group psychotherapy education: CGP requires completion of 15 clock hours of study in group theory and practice beginning January 1, 2021. However, courses taken before this date will be accepted for the CGP at 12 hours as long as the required content is covered. After completing GTTP’s yearlong program, a participant will have accrued 24+ hours toward this requirement.

• Group psychotherapy experience: CGP requires 300 hours experience as a group leader or co-leader accrued during or following clinical graduate training. GTTP provides monthly assistance developing your groups so that you can add to or begin accruing hours for your group leadership requirement. If a participant is not leading or co-leading a group, they will not be able to accrue these group experience hours.

• Group psychotherapy supervision/clinical consultation: CGP requires 75 hours of group psychotherapy supervision accrued during or following clinical graduate training. GTTP provides up to 48 hours of weekly consultation or supervision for those in the program who are leading groups. Hours may vary based on you and your consultant’s schedule. Additional consultation hours may be accrued through participation in the monthly Group Development Course.

• Reference forms: CGP applicants must submit a minimum of two completed reference forms with their application. You will have a supervisor/consultant and peer group therapists in your training cohort who can help you with this. If a consultant or supervisor does not have the CGP credential, they must attest that they meet the CGP eligibility requirements of an academic graduate degree, licensure at the highest level in their discipline, have led a total of 600 hours of group psychotherapy, and have had 75 hours of supervision.

More information on CGP certification process at: https://www.agpa.org/cgp-certification/

Eligibility requirements: https://www.agpa.org/cgp-certification/how-to-apply

For questions about GTTP, you may contact Mary Ann Kassier, LCSW, CGP committee co-chair and faculty member at 925-746-2624 (voicemail) or maryannkassier@gmail.com