The Book Board is much like a therapeutic group.It is a microcosm of the real world. Those of us who are extroverts jump right in expressing whatever is on our minds, whereas, those of us who are introverted keep quiet for as long as it takes us to feel comfortable participating.
Therapeutic groups work because of the curative factors that automatically happen over time. These include:
1) Altruism (helping others has given me more self-respect) This happens here.
2) Cohesiveness (revealing embarrassing things about myself and still being accepted by the group or belonging to a group of people who understood and accepted me) This happens here.
3) Universality (learning I am not the only one with my type of problem) This happens here.
4) Interpersonal Learning-Input (the group's teaching me about the type of impression I make on others-or-learning how I come across to others)
This happens here.5) Interpersonal Learning-Output (the group giving me an opportunity to learn to approach others)
This happens here.6) Guidance (group members suggesting or advising something for me to do) This happens here.
7) Catharsis (getting things off my chest)
This happens here.8) Identification (finding someone in the group I could pattern myself after) This happens here.
9) Family Re-enactment (being in a group is, in some sense, like being in a family, only this time a more accepting and understanding family) This happens here.
10) Self Understanding (learning that I react to some people or situations unrealistically) This happens here.
11) Instillation of Hope (knowing others had solved problems similar to mine) This happens here.
12) Existential Factors (learning that I must take ultimate responsibility for the way I live my life no matter how much guidance and support I get from others)
This happens here.Therapeutic groups have people who zap the group. They show up only when they need or want something and then they are gone leaving the remaining members scratching their heads wondering what just happened. This happens here.
Therapeutic groups operate much like a family unit -- they experience new family members being added (marriages and new babies -- much like new Board members making their first post) and family losses (divorces and deaths -- much like a regular poster being gone for a while). This happens here.
Therapeutic groups much like this board or just life in general consist of people who "need to be needed" and people who are "needy" -- if the two of them manage to find each other, all goes well. This happens here.
Lastly, we all have choices in how we participate in our own life as we can either be passive observers or active participants. This happens here.
In my practice I tell all new patients they are my teacher and I am their student and they are my student and I am their teacher. I also tell them "As long as you stay comfortable there is no personal growth, for personal growth comes from being uncomfortable and having a safe place to work through it."
courtesy of exptmircle
A tribute to a dear Book Board friend, Mike
Our wise and worldly ms-snapp-e
Booktree, a courageous and generous friend
Visit our tribute to our animal friends at the War Dogs Memorial.
