Yalom's 11 Factors Experienced by Members in Group Therapy

Irvin Yalom, a famous American psychiatrist and psychotherapist known for his pioneering work on existential and group therapy, arrived at eleven factors that were consistently experienced by members in a therapy group. This article shares those factors and the value they offer to people who participate in group counselling therapy. If you're considering joining a group for counselling, I hope this may perk your curiosity further or support your decision in taking a risk by trying it out.

The eleven factors that Yalom has described as being experienced by group members in therapy group are '(1) instillation of hope, (2) universality, (3) imparting of information, (4) altruism, (5) development of socializing techniques, (6) imitative behavior, (7) catharsis, (8) corrective recapitulation of the primary family group,(9) existential factors, (10) group cohesiveness, and (11) interpersonal learning.' These factors offer value to group members because they are able to transition from feeling alone, to feeling connected with others. They’re able to see a mirrored reflection of aspects of themselves, including their thought and feeling patterns. There is a sense of relief in knowing you’re not alone by experiencing others who share similar thoughts, beliefs, feelings, emotions, and behaviors. My personal experience in groups tells me that motivation is a major force generated by all of this. A safe environment is another valuable part of the experience for group members to feel safe revealing their authentic personalities. This can lead to a corrective type of emotional experience that heals previous dysfunctional experiences. When members feel concern for one another, and with the counselling therapist, they’re more likely to be able to trust the process and share openly without fear or avoidance of punishment. This is transformative since most of us have experienced and learned some form of fear and punishment in our childhoods. It is through interactions in group (with other members and the therapist) that offer so many possibilities including: hope, a universally shared experience, learning of new information, compassion for one another, social skills, relief from release of emotions, correcting negative experiences and perceptions from family or parent relationships (such as with transference), addressing anxiety about life or death, and a sense of purpose and meaning.

Finally, people can heal through many of their difficulties which manifest in a group. They can change and create new behavioral responses because the group is a more realistic version or simulation of what is experienced in the family and society culture. The value is in the potential for so-called “corrective gains” that help us move beyond our dysfunctional family histories and stories, into new ways of knowing and being.

References

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

UK.