learn to facilitate

group

therapy

interpersonal group psychotherapy facilitation introductory course

An 8-session Experiential Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Interpersonal Group Psychotherapy for Mental Health Practitioners, Group Facilitators and Community Space Holders.

QUICK DETAILS

8x 2hr Sessions over 4 weeks (Wed nights and Fri nights) • 16 CPD points • Maximum 8 participants • Tuition Fee $1,100 • Must attend ALL sessions • Main Road, Eltham • Begins Wed 24 September • Apply below

Why Train in Interpersonal Group Psychotherapy?

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." — Jiddu Krishnamurti

We are living through an epidemic of loneliness in a culture fixated on individual resilience and self-sufficiency. When isolation, disconnection, and alienation from community, ancestry, and place have become the norm, we must ask ourselves: are we treating the right problem?

If individuals are feeling lonely, isolated, and disconnected—disenfranchised from culture, ecology, and belonging—perhaps they are not sick at all. Perhaps they are the canary in the coal mine, alerting us to something toxic in the air. The problem isn't the canary; it's the air. The problem isn't an epidemic of mental illness; it's a sick culture, or the very lack of culture itself.

As Audre Lorde reminds us, "The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house." If chronic individualism is the sickness, then individual therapy—however well-intentioned—may inadvertently reinforce the problem. When the culture is manifesting illness through individuals who feel displaced and disconnected, we need to treat the system, not just the symptoms.

Interpersonal Group Psychotherapy attends to the social foundations of health and vitality. It takes seriously that individual mental distress is often a symptom of social dysfunction, recognizing there is little wisdom in treating symptomatic individuals if their distress expresses a systemic breakdown.

This approach understands that mental health and human maturation occur both intra-psychically and interpersonally. The engine of group therapy is the group as a whole—learning to relate in deeper, healthier, and more authentic ways. With decades of research from pioneers like Irvin Yalom, Gerald Corey, and Robert Coyne, the evidence base for a variety of group therapy models are well-established, encompassing both evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence.

For mental health practitioners, training in group therapy isn't just about adding another modality to your toolkit. It's about learning to heal culture itself—to create the very belonging and connection that our individualistic society has forgotten how to provide.

Ready to become part of the solution our culture desperately needs?

About the Course

Course Outline - Key Features and Agreements

This is an 8-session (4-week) experiential introduction to the Theory and Practice of Interpersonal Group Psychotherapy, after which, participants will be equipped to apply their learnings in both clinical and community contexts.
This will be a mixed gender learning group of 8 participants, meeting twice weekly to replicate the ideal conditions for effective interpersonal group psychotherapy.
As such, applicants must be committed to attend ALL 8 sessions as a condition of enrolment.
This is an adult learning environment, designed for practitioners and trainees with relevant prior knowledge, experience, and clinical wisdom.
A level of assumed knowledge is expected and welcomed, and each participant will be encouraged to contribute their clinical insight and lived wisdom to enrich the learning group.
This course is designed as an experiential learning program and is NOT designed or intended as a therapeutic container, however, by its nature this course will require participants to engage in a degree of experiential interpersonal here-and-now therapeutic work.

Learning Objectives

Models for Group and Individual Development - Learn models to understand, recognise, and navigate stages of group development as well as stages of individual healing, emergence and lasting change.
Establishing and Concluding Sessions - Explore ways to begin a group and close any given session with therapeutic intention and structural clarity, especially when sessions end in rupture.
Facilitation Roles and Group Dynamics - Clarify the roles and responsibilities of facilitators and participants, and distinguish between in-patient and out-patient groups, open and closed groups, as well as distinguishing between interpersonal process groups and other group formats such as task oriented groups and psycho-educational groups.
Therapist as Tool and Norm-Setter - Understand the therapist as a therapeutic tool and principal norm generator, shaping group tone, safety, and direction through presence and modelling.
Unique Therapeutic Factors and Attachment Awareness - Deepen awareness of the unique healing factors of interpersonal group therapy and how to recognise and work with attachment patterns and collective (socio-archetypal) dramas as they manifest in the group as a social microcosm.
Suitability, Assessment, and Supervision - Develop ways to assess potential participants—diagnostic considerations, clinical judgment, and common suitability markers—and learn tools for reviewing session efficacy, supervision norms, and reflective practice.
Interpersonal Neurobiology and Trauma-Informed Practice - Apply insights from interpersonal neurobiology, attachment science, and polyvagal theory to facilitate trauma-informed group work that honours both neurological and relational healing.
The Social Medicine of Group Therapy - Consider the therapeutic and cultural value of group therapy within an individualist society facing epidemics of loneliness, disconnection, and alienation from place, home, ecology and mythic ground.

Recommended Texts

Yalom, I. & Leszcz, M. (2020). The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy

Corey, G. (2016). Theory and Practice of Group Counselling

Conyne, R. (2014). Group Work Leadership: An Introduction for Helpers

Siegel, D. (2012). The Developing Mind

Yalom, I. (2005). The Schopenhauer Cure (a novel about a group)

Course dates

7-9pm Wednesdays 24 September and 1, 8, 15 October AND 7-9pm Fridays 26 September and 3, 10, 17 October.

Tuition Fee: $1,100

Payment must be made in full to secure enrolment prior to the course start date.

Location

Eltham Counselling and Consulting Rooms, Unit 2/70 Commercial Place Eltham VIC, 3095

CPD Accreditation

Participants will receive an Attendance Certificate for 16 CPD points (16 hours of in-person professional learning).

Cancellation & Refund Policy

Cancellation Administration Fee: $90 administrative fee applies to all cancellations.

Refunds:

More than 14 days before: Full refund minus $90 fee
7-14 days before: 50% refund minus $90 fee
Less than 7 days before or after start: No refund

Note. Please carefully consider your commitment before applying. This policy protects our group learning environment. Written cancellation notice must be provided by email. This policy is non-negotiable.

Apply

Applicants will be contacted by email within 72 hours of submitting an application.

Name

First Name

Last Name

Email

Phone

(###)

###

####

In what capacity do you serve the community in the mental health sector?

including your training qualifications and clinical or community-based experience.

What experience do you have of group therapy? and How has individual counselling/psychotherapy or group therapy benefitted you in your life?

Why do you want to train in Interpersonal Group Psychotherapy and what is it about interpersonal group psychotherapy that interests you?

Please confirm your readiness and preparedness.

This course is designed for Mental Health Practitioners, Group Facilitators and Community Space Holders, who are suitably qualified, experienced and equipped. In other words, this is not an appropriate course for anyone who has never undergone personal psychotherapy, or anyone who is not already trained or in training to be a leader in this field.

I have read and I understand the course material on this webpage and I confirm that I am suitably qualified and mentally, emotionally and relationally fit and ready to participate in an experiential interpersonal group psychotherapy course.

I confirm that I can attend all 8 sessions.

I understand that as a participant in this experiential training, I will be engaging in experiential interpersonal here-and-now psychotherapeutic processes as part of the learning.

I understand that this is a learning program and NOT a therapeutic container.