What is cohesion and why is it important in group therapy?

This article briefly introduces the concept of cohesion and why it is important in group therapy and counselling. Cohesion involves the attraction and bonding of group members to one another and a facilitator or leader. It helps catalyze the behavioral and personality changes of individuals. It’s important because members will work harder, offer more intimate disclosure, explore themselves more deeply, take bigger risks, and make more profound changes in their personalities and behavior. Cohesion is important because it supports the therapeutic process and is necessary for helping people in a group to feel a sense of belonging, acceptance, understanding, and support. The need to belong is part of being human and being social. Cohesion can be fostered in a therapy group when members disclose their feelings about issues related to trust. It can also develop in groups with clearly defined and agreed upon goals, or where there is encouragement between members for participation. Other ways that cohesion can be cultivated in groups are when people follow a here-and-now approach, when they effectively deal with conflict, through appeal and attraction to the group experience and to individual members, and when there’s honesty and openness about one’s thoughts and feelings. Finally, you may still be asking yourself, why is cohesion important in groups? It is needed in groups so people can move forward together, to heal, grow, and develop in relationship with one another. It needs to be encouraged and facilitated by a leader who emphasizes honesty in ongoing interactions. Individual group members are also responsible for promoting cohesion within the group and amongst each other in their relationships.

Sources

Fehr, S. S. (2018). Introduction to Group Therapy: A Practical Guide, Third Edition.

Routledge.

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

UK.