Working With A Psychologist - Individually Or In A Group? Features And Differences

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Often you have to face doubts about what is better to choose - a psychologist or a group. Perhaps this article will help you decide and consciously choose what will be most relevant at this stage of your life. We will look at how these differences manifest themselves at key points in our work, as well as in the dynamics of the ongoing processes.

What to choose - a psychologist or a group?

Often a person is in a difficulty - what to prefer: individual work with a psychologist or participation in a psychological group. The generally accepted view on this issue is that individual work is preferable when solving personal problems and internal conflicts, and group work is more effective when working with interpersonal problems, communication problems, building relationships, in resolving conflicts associated with relationships.

It is also generally accepted that individual work presupposes greater thoroughness, thoroughness, depth of immersion and the study of the patient's conflicts. Participation in a group implies more intensity, expression, dynamics, there is more variety of experiences to explore, more uncertainty that we learn to handle.

In general, one can agree with this. But the modern approach in psychology still assumes that intrapersonal problems and problems of interpersonal interaction have one source and are so connected that we cannot clearly distinguish between them. Although, indeed, in individual work, we focus on the internal problems of a person, but at the same time assuming that these problems manifest themselves precisely in communication with other people. And in fact, at the heart of any request to a psychologist, as a rule, it is precisely unmet needs in a relationship that lie.

Also in a group - when a participant has problems in interactions with others, of course, we are talking, first of all, about intrapersonal unresolved conflicts. Those. in this aspect, we can talk, rather, not about cardinal and fundamental differences, but about a change in the main accents and focus of consideration of human problems, or, as they say in gestalt psychology, the figure changes to the background and vice versa.

But, despite some blurring of the generalized goals of the work individually and in a group, we can highlight important, tangible differences between them, which can significantly affect the results of our work.

Free association and group discussion - from monologue to discourse

In individual psychological work, free association is used - you talk about what is important to you, is relevant at the moment, and the psychologist follows you, giving you the opportunity to express yourself as much as possible, to express the most painful, and exactly from the angle as you see it. This is a situation of a monologue, occasionally interspersed with dialogue. The patient, especially at the initial stages of work, speaks exclusively in monologues. This is a conversation and relationship between two people.

In a group, the analogue of free association is a group discussion, i.e. we find ourselves in a rather difficult discourse situation for many people. You can imagine the sensations when you speak exclusively for one listener (psychologist), and he listens to you in the most attentive way, his attention belongs only to you. And now compare that to a group meeting. The group in this regard creates a more complex situation, it sets the movement from a monologue not just to dialogue, but even to discussion, when several people express their opinion and attitude.

You immediately come across the fact that what you said may not meet with a reaction, but may be picked up by other participants, used and deployed in a completely unforeseen, seemingly unreasonable and unforeseen direction by you. But who knows … This is precisely the focus of the group's work - in such “kind of misunderstandings”.

A polyphonic group conversation creates a situation of plurality and much greater uncertainty than a one-on-one conversation with a psychologist. The group sets a powerful vector of development towards other people, towards interaction, communication and relationships, developing the ability for dialogue and discourse, for greater stability and flexibility in a situation of plurality, polyphony of views, opinions, and various kinds of relationships. Individual work, of course, is inferior to group work in this aspect.

From interpretation to group metaphor - from precision to richness of possibilities

(In the context of this article, the concept of "interpretation" is used in a broad sense, we are talking about the statements of a psychologist).

Despite the general theoretical foundations, the forms of interaction and approaches to the study of problems in individual and group work differ significantly. And there, and there we are dealing with interpretations, but with very characteristic differences.

In an individual session, we can talk about interpretation aimed at revealing and understanding a person's personal drama. It's about a unique life experience. In a group session, everything is completely different - we are dealing with the history of several people, often completely different from each other, sometimes conflicting, competing. Since we are dealing with a collective of people, therefore, the group interpretation is aimed at expanding the individual to the group (but still, one perspective does not exclude the other). We can say that group interpretation allows you to see more, but at a lower resolution.

In individual work, interpretations can be more subtle and accurate, because they are addressed to the only person whose life experience and inner world are placed at the center of consideration. In a group, the focus of the study is a group situation, a group story that unfolds in a plurality of perspectives, because there are several participants. In a group setting, interpretation sheds light on those aspects that exist in the group, and we can talk not so much about interpretation as about creating an effective group metaphor.

For all its merits, it should be noted that personal interpretation has a chance to be static for the patient, to become something unshakable, difficult to move. Group interpretation allows us to discover many perspectives of vision, interpretation, because we are not so strongly conditioned by a particular human history.

So, in the aspect of interpretive influences, both individual sessions and group sessions have their own specific advantages. Briefly, they can be designated as follows: an individual session - striving for accuracy and clarity of interpretation, consistency, certainty, while there are much less opportunities for variability, changing perspectives, exploring different contexts of problems and relationships. Group metaphor - less precision, but more meaning, play, variety and mobility, creating for us a wealth of possibilities, giving flexibility to our behavior and our consciousness.

Dyadic Space and Group Environment - Language Problems

The space of relationships in which we find ourselves and the participants of which we become, in an individual session or in a group session, is very different.

Let's imagine an individual session - we have two participants in the events. The psychologist is the only person to whom the patient's speech is addressed. Thanks to this, we can deeply explore the patient's associations, achieve maximum closeness to his subjective experience. In the context of dyadic relationships, it is easier for us to understand his life situation, discover what is happening in the session, find a common language and understanding of what is happening.

But in an individual session, there are two stumbling blocks inherent in dyadic relationships: opposition and fusion. And if in this space, for one reason or another, a symbolic third does not appear, allowing both the patient and the psychologist, i.e. for this couple to cope together with the arising tensions, contradictions, difficult sections of the path - then one of the stumbling blocks will surely make itself felt, which can destroy the work process. This destructive influence can manifest itself either in a feeling of insurmountable stagnation in work, or in its premature interruption.

Now let's mentally plunge into the group environment. This is a completely different type of communication, the symbolic third is set here from the very beginning, being present in the very structure of the group - the leader, each participant and the group as a whole. Therefore, entering a group is more difficult for us than establishing contact with a psychologist in a one-on-one setting. And the larger the group, the more difficult the experience is.

What is special about the group process? This kind of communication requires a completely different kind of cooperation from us in comparison with individual work. Each of the participants has their own history, life experience, ideas, their own reactions to what is happening. In this space, perspectives and rhythms are constantly changing, here what is well known to you, one might even say unshakable, can appear in completely unexpected contexts.

And we are trying, in spite of all the difficulties, to keep afloat the canvas of communication and to catch connections in all this often rather motley and contradictory diversity. We feel that we have fallen into a kind of labyrinth of different languages, thoughts, feelings, experiences, stories of many people. It is much more difficult to find a common language here than in an individual setting, therefore, rather, we can talk about the formation of a new language of this group in order to understand each other. Let us recall the myth about the construction of the Tower of Babel, when people built something without having a common language - this is similar to the first steps of a group when it just starts work.

Basically, each participant is driven by two needs - to express their experiences, to free themselves from negative and difficult feelings, to share emotional experiences and difficulties with others to make it easier. On the other hand, everyone wants, as they say, to look good - to be socially pleasant, accepted, adequate, reasonable, competent, knowledgeable. These two needs, as a rule, in each person are in a rather conflicting relationship, which is very disturbing in life. But the group process is designed to help resolve this contradiction. And it is the group that can help resolve this dilemma to the greatest extent possible.

Two stumbling blocks - merger and opposition, which we talked about when discussing one-to-one relationships, manifest themselves here and act differently, since the symbolic third is initially embedded in the very structure of the group, but sometimes it is ignored by the participants.

These stumbling blocks of any psychological work, giving rise to group tension and conflict, have enormous potential value, because can enrich the experience of each group member. Merging has a chance to be reborn into a sense of community, when participants are able to share traumatic experiences, difficult feelings, and the experience of an individual participant becomes an experience for the entire group as a whole. It enriches us with feelings of empathy and support.

And oppositionalism sets the group dynamics, makes it possible to get out of the dyadic merger, gives us the opportunity for development and growth, sets the vector from a monologue towards dialogue and discussion with others. Where dialogue was previously felt inconceivable, it becomes quite possible.

Specific problems that can only be investigated in groups

There are also specific problems that can only be investigated in groups.

Resolving the dilemma - narcissism and sociality - being yourself and being with others

I have already mentioned two fundamental human needs - in self-expression and in relationships, and that they can conflict with each other. Because of the desire to maintain relationships, people often do not dare to express their opinions, feelings, experiences, hiding their reactions, which may underlie feelings of dissatisfaction with the relationship. It is in group interaction that we can explore and resolve this contradiction.

Ability to accept variability, difference, multiplicity of perspectives, to be in uncertainty

In a group, a person acquires a psychological space larger than his own. And this is due to interaction with other members of the group in an atmosphere where an emotional space is created for everyone, without exception. We come to the group, meeting the worlds of different participants. We learn to open our world among people, we learn and leave our world, allowing ourselves to explore the worlds of others. What happens during these interactions? Participants can reveal in themselves the same unknown worlds, different ways of understanding, vision, behavior, communication.

The ability to understand and find a common language in group interactions

The problem of understanding each other in group interactions is being worked out much more intensively. Since there are many participants, and we initially find ourselves in a more complex story - the story of the myth of the Tower of Babel, we are forced to turn to the roots of this misunderstanding, to its very origins, because of which the relationship collapses. This is a joint search for new opportunities for understanding, the search and formation of a new language - the language of this group, which will allow us to be able to understand each other. We begin to trust more, devalue less, value relationships without losing a sense of self-worth.

Developing flexibility in our consciousness and our behavior

In individual work, the psychologist in a certain way tunes in to the patient's wave and the success of the process largely depends on how much he succeeded (although this is a two-way movement, a lot depends on the patient himself). In a group, participants learn to catch these waves by themselves, helping themselves and others. This is the healing potential of the group.

Achieving freedom of communication

In group work, the goal of achieving freedom in communication is twofold - on the one hand, everyone wants it in their hearts, on the other hand, without this we will not be able to get the maximum effect from group work. Those. we are put in a situation where what we want becomes a condition of our existence in a group. Well, in fact, this is how the abilities develop in us. In any case, there is a chance for this. A chance that is not available in individual work.

Restoring emotional connections with the world

And finally, it is in group interaction that we get the opportunity to find ourselves in the context of other people. Gradually, we develop the ability to be ourselves among others, trusting ourselves, our feelings, not being afraid of our own reactions and the reactions of other people.

In a group, we get the opportunity to experience and express any feelings, and there are people nearby who are experiencing similar experiences with us. Together with a sense of trust, we begin to allow contact with difficult experiences, with our own pain, suffering without a sense of destruction and a sense of persecution. This is what we lacked in our previous relationship. And the group helps us to experience, to cope, to reveal the meaning of this pain, which we constantly transfer into our life today. And this is not only your pain, but also of the whole group. The group works this way.