I’m very happy toreport that we’ve beenmaking solid progresson our goals for 2013and 2014. Ourmembership numbershave graduallyincreased, reversing aseveral-year decline.

Thanks to the work of the Publicity andMarketing Task Force, we are now on ourway to building an improved website andelectronic infrastructure, along with astronger social media presence. ThePractice Development Task Force isworking on planning new services formembers. The Training Program for 2013started this January, and planning for theJune 14-16 Conference (Group Therapy:Face Time in the Age of Facebook) is wellunderway. The Breakfast Club hasidentified the events that will be offered inthe coming year. It’s worth noting thatattendance at the excellent Breakfast Clubpresentation by Dr. Eleanor Counselmanon January 13th was substantially greaterthan was anticipated.We continue to be blessed by anextraordinarily creative and thoughtfulBoard, by Susan Wade, our new OfficeManager, and by Sara Emerson, ourdedicated and highly knowledgeable PastPresident. All this makes the President’sjob easier and more comfortable. TheBoard is also considering modernizing ourmethods of having general membershipmeetings, so that we can hold meetingsand votes by email and other electronicmeans as well as at our Annual Meeting.For several reasons, our traditional fiscalyear (July 1 to June 30) needs to bechanged to the calendar year, and wewould like to get that done expeditiously.We are also thinking about turning ourcurrent Task Forces (Publicity and PracticeDevelopment) into standing Committees—and perhaps re-instituting a CEUCommittee to help coordinate theincreasing complexity of our relationshipswith MMS, APA, and NASW.We sent an opinion survey to our membersin December, and in January reported the

results to everyone. According to thesurvey results, our members are quitepleased with what the Society has beendoing. They are interested in strengtheningour efforts to inform the public (andinsurers) about the healing power of grouptherapy. A number of members offered tohelp with this effort as well as with others.Our next major task, then, is enhancingpublic awareness and the awareness of thehealth care community in the Northeastabout group psychotherapy and itseffectiveness. This will, of course, taketime, thought, and effort. We will ask foryour help with the task, and will keep youinformed about what we are doing. The member survey also suggested that afew members still think of us as “cliquey.”We truly encourage participation by allmembers on Committees, the Board, andour other activities and initiatives —andwe’re also eager to support activitiesbeyond the Boston metro area. I invitethose of you who are interested in workingwith us on any of these tasks to contactme, or anyone on the Board.A Thought about Insurers andGroup Therapy

I attended the NSGP special event on thenew CPT codes, organized and sponsoredby the Practice Development Task Force.The presentation was well done and veryuseful. The CPT codes presentation led meto think again about why insurers seemreluctant to take group therapy seriously,and why they reimburse at such low ratesfor something that works so well. My guessis that insurers are uneasy about methodsthey see as indirect in respect to diagnosisand symptom reduction—which, to them,makes such methods seem inefficient.Psychodynamically-based individualpsychotherapy, for example, is indirect byits nature, and despite ample dataregarding its great effectiveness, apparentlycontinues to be viewed with suspicion bysome insurers. Group therapy is alsoindirect, since a group’s work during asession may or may not be directly focusedon an individual member’s problems orsymptoms. It is easy—and erroneous—to

assume that group therapy is therefore“watered down” or inefficient care. If I’mright, the tendency among insurers toprefer direct, “mechanical” models of caremakes it less likely that we can convincethem to reimburse group treatment at ahigher rate. That will not prevent us fromcontinuing to work on the problem,however, though we may have to tackle itthrough better-informed public agenciesand a better-informed public.Please join us in the work to be done.

Peter Gumpert, PhD, CGPPresident, NSGP

pgumpert@comcast.net

N S G PN o r t h e a s t e r n S o c i e t y f o r G r o u p P s y c h o t h e r a p y

the newsletter

Volume XXXIV, Number 1 Spring 2013

1

INSIDEPage 2. . . Letter from the Editor

Page 3. . . Breakfast Club

AGPA Conference 2013

Page 4. . . New Orleans: For-Play toBoston 2014 AGPA

Page 5. . . Not Just Another Goodbye:Farewell to the AGPAWomen’s SIG Leadership

Page 7. . . Reflections on AGPA NewOrleans

Page 8 . . . Analyze This

Page 10. . On Writing, ParallelProcess, and Group

Page 11. . NSGP 2013 Conference

Page 12. . NSGP Special Event

Page 13. . Getting to Know…Susan Wade, NSGP OfficeManager

Page 14. . Cartoon Caption Contest

Page 14. . NSGP Foundation HoldsTribute for Anne Alonso

Page 16. . CPT Code Workshop

Page 17. . NSGP Foundation Retreat

Page 17. . NSGP Member PracticeAnnouncements

Page 18. . Progress Notes

Back Cover: 2012–2013 EventsCalendar

Letter from the President

Letter from the EditorWhat a time of change this is.

In our field alone, the ways we are told todefine the value of our time have just beenaltered with billing code changes, and inMay of this year, the very definitions of themental illnesses fundamental to ourtreatment plans, research, and insurancecommunications will be revised with thepublishing of the DSM-5. Along with theuncertainty immediate to our field, theworld continues to shift and evolve as well.There is the need to reinvent ourselves inorder to stay apace with the technologicaladvances bursting and infiltrating everycorner of our lives, even into ourtherapeutic spaces. Violence and shootingsare becoming more the norm than wecould ever have imagined thirty years ago.Our President was re-inaugurated inJanuary, and his speech touched on manypressing topics of change includingenvironmental, gender and sexualorientation equality, and conceptualizationof the role of immigrants.

As we move forward into this uncertainty,there were ideas in the PresidentialInauguration speech that will carry meforward through the coming year. Thephrase that stuck with me the most wasthat “our generation’s task [is]…not tosettle centuries-long debates…for ALLtime, but it does require us to act in OURtime. We must act, knowing the work willbe imperfect.” (emphasis mine) He went onto underscore that although our successesmay only be partial, our duty is to continueto move the work forward so that thosewho come decades or centuries after usmay also continue to progress.

Other segments of the ceremony alsostruck a chord. Earlier in the speech,President Obama made a reference toMedicare and Social Security as being “thecommitments we make to each other” thatstrengthen our bonds and build a solidnational foundation such that we can thentake risks towards greatness in other ways,together, as a country. Later, the poetRichard Blanco read his poem entitled“One,” which catalogued, with brilliantimagery and simple words, the ways that allof our differences add to, but do notdetract from, the ways that we are thesame, one people, in one country and“under one sun and one moon,”illuminating our individual stories whileuniting and strengthening us through thepower of togetherness.

I thought, “They might as well have beentalking about group therapy.” Think abouthow many of Yalom’s therapeutic factors ofgroups were evoked in those ideas:universality, installation of hope, altruism,socializing, cohesiveness, existentialism.And of course, we as humans live ingroups, thrive on connections, moveforward most strongly when we movetogether. On the listserv this winter, we sawdiscourse about the financial devaluing ofour profession, calls to act, petitions tosign, encouragement harnessing thestrength of the whole greater than its parts;and in President Obama’s speech, he madea mandate: “You and I…have theobligation to shape the debates of our time—not only with the votes we cast, but withthe voices we lift in defense of our mostancient values and enduring ideals.”

Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy, Inc.PO Box 356Belmont, MA 02478-3201 (617) 484-4994

www.nsgp.com

the

new

slet

ter

NSGP Newsletter CommitteeEditors Barbara Keezell, LICSW, CGP, FAGPA

Jennifer McLain, MD, CGP

Members Theresa Bullock Cohen, LICSWDavid Goldfinger, PhD, CGPOona Metz, LICSW, CGPJoseph Shay, PhD, CGP, FAGPAAlan Witkower, EdD, CGPEllen Ziskind, LICSW, CGP

Photography Lise Motherwell, PsyD, CGP, FAGPAJoseph Shay, PhD, CGP, FAGPA

Design K. White White Design designer_solution@comcast.net

The goals of this newsletter are two-fold:• To promote the objectives of the Northeastern

Society for Group Psychotherapy, an affiliate of theAmerican Group Psychotherapy Association.

• To be a forum for the exchange of ideas and information among members.

NSGP Executive BoardPresident Peter Gumpert, PhD, CGP

Past President Sara Emerson, LICSW, CGP, FAGPASecretary Theresa Bullock Cohen, LICSWTreasurer Debora Carmichael, PhD, CGP

Directors Julie Anderson, PhD, CGPMarc Bolduc, LICSW, CADC II, CGPSteve Cadwell, PhDJoseph Doherty, EdDPamela Enders, PhD, CGPLarry Kron, JD, PhD Julie Gardner Mandel, PhDOona Metz, LICSW, CGP

NSGP Committee ChairpersonsAudit TBA

Breakfast Club Joel Krieg, LICSW

By-Laws Lawrence Kron, JD, PhDRichard C. Tomb, MD, CGP

Conference Julie Anderson, PhD, CGPScott Reinhardt, PhD, CGP

Disaster Response Kathleen Hubbs Ulman, PhD, CGP, FAGPA

Membership TBA

Newsletter Barbara Keezell, LICSW, CGP, FAGPAJennifer McLain, MD, CGP

Nominating Eleanor Counselman, EdD, CGP, FAGPA

Referral Service TBA

Training Program Joseph Doherty, EdDMarsha Vannicelli, PhD, CGP

NSGP Office (617) 484-4994 Office Administrator Susan Wade

Messages can be left at the office anytime, and will be answered daily.Monday-Friday 9 am to 5 pm

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Something to Say??Next time, see your words here.

Write an email sharing your thoughts or opinions with the Editors and your letter may be published infull or part in the Fall 2013 Newsletter. Please send submissions to:

newsletter@nsgp.com.Note: letters not edited except for space.

I(continued on page 3)

I hear this as both permission andimperative to embrace the uncertaintyrather than to shy away from it, and to doso with a clear vision of our hope for theultimate end product and the courage toact in ways that defend and move us in that direction.

One final thought about connectednessand change came to me as I observedmyself watching the Inauguration alone athome. Craving connection midway throughthe ceremony, I grabbed my computer,opened a social media site and reached out(via a “status update”) to others whom Ihoped were at that exact moment alsoonline, having a similar experience andavailable to join me in it. Within 2 minutes,I had responses from friends in Boston,D.C., and San Diego acknowledging myreactions and sharing their own. Throughtechnology, I was able to immediately shiftfrom oneness to togetherness. In the past,I may have had to wait until dinner tableconversation or the next social outing torecreate the moment, perhaps losingsomething of the connection in the delay.But through this shift from face-to-face tocomputer screen, did I lose something aswell? Our Annual Conference this year willbe exploring the cutting edge questions wewill have to address as the digital ageintroduces a new realm to our professionalwork as well as our patients’ personal lives.As the President said in his address, “wepossess all the qualities this world withoutboundaries demands,” but it is left to us tobe deliberate and thoughtful about how weuse those qualities to shape it and how toreestablish a solid foundation on theseshifting grounds. I hope we will have theopportunity to do exactly that in June, andI hope to connect with you there.

Jenn McLain, MD, CGPCo-Editor, Newsletter

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Co-editors Barbara and Jenn will alternate the Letter from the

Editor in this space.

Letter from the Editor(continued from page 2) The Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy

Cordially Invites You to Our 2013-2014

Breakfast ClubLearn about group therapy and socialize with colleagues at a FREE colloquium series. Each POTLUCK event will take place on designated Sundays from 11 AM to 1:30 PM.Participants may bring guests. Please contribute a breakfast item (quiche, fruit, bagels,pastries, cheese, etc). The host will provide coffee and tea. To sign up for an event or for directions, participants should email groups@nsgp.com or call Susan Wade at theNSGP office: (617) 484-4994.

Calendar for 2013–20144/14/13 Sexual Addiction and Compulsion

Presented by Judith Silverstein, PhDHosted by Jim Leone (Belmont, MA)

9/22/13 Marketing Your Private PracticePresented by Theresa Bullock Cohen, LICSW

Hosted by Eleanor Counselman (Belmont, MA)

10/20/13 Field Notes from a Psychodynamic Therapist LeadingDivorce Support Groups. Is It “Support” or Is It“Therapy” and What Is The Difference Anyway?Presented by Oona Metz, LICSW, CGP

Hosted by Scott Rutan (Chestnut Hill, MA)

12/8/13 Attachment Style and Living Solo: GroupPsychotherapy with Single AdultsPresented by Nancy Goldner, PhD, LICSW, CGP

Hosted by Barbara Keezell (Newton, MA)

1/12/14 Spirituality in GroupsPresented by Bob Weber, PhD, CGP

Hosted by Geri & Scott Reinhardt (Newton, MA)

3/23/14 What’s Grief Got to Do with It: Traveling through Losswith ClientsPresented by Maxine Sushelsky, LMHC

Hosted by Julie Anderson (Brookline, MA)

4/13/14 Transitions in Group LeadershipPresented by Joel Krieg, LICSW

Hosted by Joyce & Walker Shields (Belmont, MA)

*The Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy, Inc. (NSGP) is approved bythe American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education forpsychologists. NSGP maintains responsibility for this program and its content.Each program provides a maximum of 1.5 credits.

*NSGP is a National Board for Certified Counselors Approved ContinuingEducation Provider (ACEP) and may offer NBCC approved clock hours for eventsthat meet NBCC requirements. The ACEP solely is responsible for all aspects ofthe program. Each activity has been approved for a maximum of 1.5 Category 1hours for relicensure for Licensed Mental Health Counselors.

*NSGP, Inc. is accredited by the Massachusetts Medical Society to providecontinuing medical education for physicians. NSGP designates theseeducational activities for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™each.

*For information regarding the status of Continuing Education Credits for social workers and Registered Nurses please call the NSGP office at 617-484-4994.

For all disciplines, continuing credit awarded is dependent on participation andparticipants should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of theirparticipation in the activity.

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New Orleans: For-Play to Boston2014 AGPASharan L. Schwartzberg, EdD, OTR/L,FAOTA, CGP, FAGPA

L earn, eat, drink, dance, and music todelight the senses. The New Orleans

AGPA meeting was Cajun spices, Creole,beignets, and satiation. Over-abundancefor every delight and group; deprivationwas not apparent! NSGP members werehighly represented in the nationalleadership, from our own Kathy Ulman,as AGPA President, to Board MembersDeborah Cross, Sara Emerson, LiseMotherwell, and me. Jerry Gansconducted a Special Institute; EleanorCounselman ran the show as Institute Co-chair; Libby Shapiro is an Annual MeetingCommittee member, and Shoshana Ben-Noam, Sara Emerson, Barbara Keezell,Norm Neiberg, and I were Instituteleaders. Open sessions and workshopswere run by NSGP members SuzanneCohen, Eleanor Counselman, DavidDybdal, Joel Frost, Larry Kron, JennMcLain, Scott Rutan, Joe Shay, andMarsha Vannicelli. Karin Hodgesconcluded her work as Women in GroupPsychotherapy SIG co-chair and waspresented with both a certificate for herservice and a lovely necklace from her co-chair Barbara Cohn. Jenn McLaincontinues in her role as SIG co-chair of

Mental Health Agencies and InstitutionalSettings and Peter Gumpert as co-chair ofthe Organizational Development andConsultation SIG.

An NSGP member I met sharing a taxi tothe airport summed the meeting up thisway: “I learned a lot. I had fun. I openedup with the skilled Institute leader. Quiteunusual for me. And, I am eager for nextyear.” After all of those heartfeltgoodbyes in New Orleans, many of uswere pleased to see each other in theairport. It was comforting to be sittingwith eight other NSGP members in theplane as well as a prospective member,Lee Stevens.

As the experience of the AGPA NewOrleans came to an end, we anticipatenext year in Boston. We have so much tolook forward to as AGPA lands in Bostonin 2014. We have the Charles River, theMFA, ICA, Gardner Museum, Museum ofScience, and full range of seafood,steakhouses, sushi and food to delight alltastes. Although there were fears of snowfall next year, Marsha Block, the CEO ofAGPA, reassured the AGPA attendees thatthe Copley Plaza Hotel carefully linksinside to restaurants, shops, and otherattractions, so people could enjoythemselves while still remaining indoors.

I give my thanks to Karin Hodges and DonWexler for helping me through writingthis note.

Jenn McLain & Joel Krieg

Deb Carmichael & Marsha Vannicelli Debbie Cross & Suzanne Cohen

Robin Good, Chera Finnis, & Oona Metz

Andrea Grunblatt & Marilyn Lanza

Shoshana Ben-Noam, Larry Kron, Debbie Cross, & Lee Stevens

Libby Shapiro & Suzanne Brennan-Nathan

Eleanor Counselman, Debbie Cross,Suzanne Cohen, & others

Jerry Gans & Andrea Grunblatt

AGPA 2013 Report from the March Conference

5

For me, whether New Orleans or Bostonmay it be, AGPA brings me together withfriends and colleagues from near and as afar as Turkey, Israel, and Greece. My NewYork pals just completing a stint hostingwere free! So on to Boston for next year’sconference. Give me New England clamchowder and no more gumbo!

✺

Not Just AnotherGoodbye: Farewellto the AGPA Womenin GroupPsychotherapy SIGLeadershipKarin Hodges, PsyD

S aying “hello” when my child enteredthe world also meant saying

“goodbye” to other people and placesassociated with career. Here, I will reflecton the frequency of “goodbyes” inprofessional life, as well as due to work-family conflicts, and share about my mostrecent experiences with transitioning outof my role as AGPA Women in GroupPsychotherapy SIG (Special Interest Group)Co-chair.

Endings are a part of life for any newprofessional. By the time I was eligible forlicensure, I had worked in nine differentresearch and clinical settings. I lived inthree different homes in two differentstates while training to become apsychologist. During this time, I attendedapproximately thirteen institutes. In all,this was twenty-five times to saygoodbye.

When I gave birth to my child, I learnedquickly that nothing is more important tome than my family. As a result, Ireprioritized my time, choosing familyover work. This meant more “goodbyes.”I stopped attending some conferences,terminated several leadership positions,and declined opportunities to publish orpresent.

As a psychologist-in-training, I learnedover time to give my labor away for free.However, the “bottom line” becamemore important when my child enteredthe picture and attention to money andresources became more central. Time withhim, daycare and preschool costs and

stability of the home became increasinglyimportant. Nothing has impacted myfeelings about career and organizationallife more than my entry into motherhood.This meant, for me, a shift in my healthstatus, shift in my time, and reevaluationof my roles in my career. It includedpaying attention to the ways in which mychild responded when I was present,absent, or occupied by work.

Women are highly susceptible to thesework-life conflicts. I have met womenwho left their careers when their childwas born; juggling life and career provedto be impossible for them. For some,salaries were not high enough to pay forchildcare. For a period of theirprofessional lives, they would actuallyhave to take a monetary loss in order tocontinue in their careers. Often they feltthey could not justify this choicefinancially — it felt selfish. For others, thetime required by employers was morethan they could devote as a new mother.Their time was swallowed up by playdates, driving children to and from school,greeting their children at the end of eachday, and even ensuring their childrenwere getting adequate sleep and naps.Their time became less their own.

There are many of us who have one footin each of two worlds — career andmotherhood. We manage the turbulenceof living at the boundaries of each world.In so doing, our professional connectionscan become truncated; we no longerhave time and energy to do everything

Guests at the NSGP dinner

Shoshana Ben-Noam, Eleanor Counselman, David Griffiths,

& Jenn McLain

Lise Motherwell & Bob Steinberg

Kurt White & Jennifer Mank

Ramon Alonso & Dorothy AltmanI(continued on page 6)

Congratulationsto Sharan Schwartzberg,EdD, OTR/L, FAOTA, CGP, on being awarded thedesignation of Fellow of the American GroupPsychotherapy Association(FAGPA)!!

Sharan Schwartzberg receiving her FAGPA

full-speed ahead. This may be especiallytrue for mothers whose own healthstatus or the health status of their child iscompromised and for mothers ofmultiples.

While I had clarity about what I wantedand needed after giving birth, thisprocess of stepping back from my variousorganizational roles was new andawkward for me. I credit thisawkwardness, in part, to being theproduct of a working class family. Assuch, I often naturally feel that I mustearn my way and that my value in theworld comes from my ability tocontribute. After entering motherhood,choosing not to contribute inorganizational life felt almost shameful. Ifelt as if I was not doing what I should ormust do to have a place in theorganizations of which I was a member.However, there was one “goodbye” thatwas healing and helpful. I would like toreflect here about the process of steppingaway from my position as Women inGroup Psychotherapy SIG Co-Chairbecause this provides an example of aparticular ending which was free of anyconfusion or shame.

Before I considered transitioning out ofleadership, my former Co-Chair BarbaraCohn, who playfully refers to herself asthe “senior consultant,” often noticedthe ways in which I was perhaps overlydevoted in professional organizations.She seemed to value me and mycontributions. She recognized that I had,for years, given more of my time thanmight be best for me.

When I disclosed that I wanted to end myrole and free up more time for myself andmy child, Barbara was supportive.Actually, all of the leaders with whom Iinteracted during this process sent me theunwavering message that I was valued,my work had been appreciated, and Icould take a break and re-engage inAGPA leadership when I was availableand interested.

Mentors within AGPA gave meconfidence that the group-as-a-wholewould not be neglected or abandoned if Ileft my post. I could leave my leadershiprole satisfied and confident that the SIGwill flourish without me. This made mefeel comfortable with my choice. Theperson who I recruited to hold the co-chair position in my place is talented,good-humored, hardworking and readyto lead.

Our leadership roles can sometimes fostera connection to the work of the groupwe are leading. I transition out of this roleknowing that it fueled a connection inme to other women and women’s issues.As I am completing my work on the SIG, Irealize that I feel stronger and clearerabout women’s issues. I feel morecompelled to think about women inleadership and to talk about issues ofgender which are often swept under therug. I feel as if I have the confidence andconviction to strike up conversationsabout gender, power, and dynamicsassociated with these issues. I credit thisopenness in me to my experiences as theWomen in Group Psychotherapy SIG co-chair. Farewell Women’s SIG leadershipand hello Women’s SIG membership!

✺

AGPA Conference 2013(continued from page 5)

Menu for NSGP dinner

6Sara Emerson & Ken Jaeger

Robin Good, Chera Finnis, & Oona Metz

Folks at the NSGP Dinner

Larry Kron & Debbie Cross

Deb Carmichael telling jokes to the crowd

A Note ofAppreciationto those who sponsored new attendees and youngprofessionals at the NSGP dinnerin New Orleans during the AGPAconference—thank you!!!

Reflections on AGPANew OrleansOona Metz, LICSW, CGP

I am always amazed when I talk toAGPA participants and they begin to

recount in great detail their memories ofpast AGPA meetings: the Institute theyattended in 1989 with Anne Alonso, thefirst time they presented a workshop onprojective identification back in 1992,that great plenary address by Scott Rutanin 2009, the award they won in 2010.My memory doesn’t work that way. I ampretty sure my first AGPA conference wasabout 15 years ago, but it could be 12 or18. I think it was in Boston. I know I’vegone most years since then, and that Ihave been to Washington, NY, Boston,New Orleans and California. I’m prettysure I didn’t go to Chicago or Atlanta. Iknow I have participated in Institutes withStewart Aledort, Susan Gannt, and JoCunningham Tervalon, but I don’t quiteremember the name of that nice olderman. You know, the one who is slightlybalding, very smart, and such a mensch.Or that elegant woman who must be 70given all of her accomplishments, butlooks like she is 60. I know I have led acouple of workshops and look forward toleading my first Institute next year.

What I do remember with some clarityare the feelings I have when I am atAGPA. A mix of excitement and intrigue,envy and awe, competence (“I could haverun that workshop”) and incompetence(“I’ll never be that accomplished”). I getin touch with how far I have come as atherapist and (thankfully) how far therestill is to go. I feel nurtured andchallenged, open and curious, more self

aware than when I arrived. And by theend, I am physically and emotionallyexhausted. Inevitably, I always succumb tomore calories and less sleep than I should.I let my life at home slip away as I inhabitthe bubble that is AGPA.

And then there are the friends. It is thelasting friendships, year after year, theones that endure and evolve over time,that are most meaningful to me. Thesefriendships, deep and intense for a week(almost) every year, enrich my lifeimmeasurably. We always express anintention to stay in regular touch, whichalmost never happens, but, no matter,the connection has been made and it isso easy to pick right back up the nextyear. I have adopted and been adoptedby friends in Colorado and New York,Minnesota and California. Myrelationships with my Boston friends andcolleagues deepen, expand, and evolve atAGPA. A highlight every year is theBoston dinner in which the buttoned-upolder generation unbuttons, the delightand camaraderie palpable in the room aswe all unwind and celebrate anothersuccessful conference, away from ourresponsibilities at home, free to tell jokesand wine and dine. It has been a luxuryand an honor to have trained in Bostonwhere group therapy is rich andrewarding, alive and well, and wheresome of the most influential andgenerous grandmothers and grandfathersof group therapy have taught, supervised,and mentored me.

My dear friend Deb and I roomedtogether this year for the first time. So insync were we, that despite flying onseparate airlines and being scheduled toarrive in New Orleans 5 hours apart fromeach other, our flights conspired and wearrived 15 minutes apart instead. As we

shared a cab from the airport to the hotelwe learned that both of our watches hadbroken on the flight down. Wenegotiated the time in New Orleans well,each letting the other know of our plans,often eating together, sometimes goingour separate ways. We began and endedeach day together, sometimes seeingeach other frequently, sometimes verylittle. We were able to connect, leave,and return over and over again.

People often refer to AGPA as their“home.” Home for most of us was notlike AGPA. We weren’t nurtured andheld, challenged, and seen in our homesgrowing up. We were not able to protestwithout fear of retaliation. So far, Ihaven’t met anyone there who describesa perfectly happy childhood. Perhaps,then, what we mean when we say AGPAis home is that it is the home we wish wehad, the one so many of us have workedto create for our own partners andchildren, but one we only came to knowas adults. I learned and relearned a lotabout attachment theory from PhillipFlores, Eleanor Counselman, and DavidWallin this week. The notion of the securebase is what I think of when I think aboutmy attachment to AGPA. My ability tofeel safely connected, to leave and comeback, again and again, year after year, isheartening. And right now, on the planeback to Boston, I am basking in the glowand looking forward to next year, inBoston.

✺

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AGPA Conference 2013(continued from page 6)

Lawrence Kron, Ph.D.

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Dear Analyze This

I lead a small “supervision group” ofmental health professionals employed ata large mental health agency. We allhave different roles in the agency as wework with individuals living in thecommunity with chronic and severemental illness. I was asked to lead thegroup because, at the time, I was theonly LICSW with some availability andemployees had been asking forsupervision that ‘counted’ towardlicensure. For the most part, membershad been trained at the graduate level innursing, social work, or mental healthcounseling but were doing casemanagement and crisis intervention, notpsychotherapy. Several memberssupervised direct care staff in theirvarious programs. Membership variedbetween 5-8 men and women in the 25to 35 age range.

Almost 4 years ago, when the groupbegan, the format was weekly preparedpresentations by members on problemcases and situations. Relatively quickly,however, a transformation occurred,seamlessly it seemed to me, in which thegroup began to look more and more likea psychodynamically oriented processgroup. Prepared notes were put away, theconference table disappeared and webecame a circle. Although events werestill brought in from outside, the focuswas now “what my reaction meant aboutme” and how interactions/relationshipsoutside the group resonated withrelationships within and vice versa. Thecentral contractual features werecomplete confidentiality, and no outside

discussion among members of groupcontent or business.

I will admit that the slope always felt abit slippery given the work associationsand connections people had outside thegroup. More recently, it became evenmore slippery when one long-termmember was promoted and found himselfinstructing 3 other group membersaround compliance issues in their regularwork roles. For the most part, however, Ihave seen only good things happen:strong attendance, a maturing group, andgood individual work. Lately, though,there seem to be more work emergenciesand time off, causing absencesfrom the group and frequentlyleaving us with differentcombinations of just twomembers.

Some of my concerns andquestions are the following: Hasmy rather cavalier attitudeabout ties outside the grouprevealed a blind spot on my partand a recipe for disaster? Itseems (and I’m still very muchlearning the ropes) my grouphas the very compositionalelements that most groupswould like to avoid: members withfrequent outside contact, sub-groupingson various levels, and hierarchicalrelationships within the group. AlthoughI consider the group far from dissolved, Ido wonder what challenges I can expectwith regard to its survival, its integrity,and how can I best prepare and/or dealwith them.

Too Close for Comfort

Dear Too Close for Comfort

Leading a supervision group can be quitechallenging as you are finding out. Theagency setting and the nature of yourrelationship to the group members addsto the complexity of your situation. Itseems to me that until recently themembers had been enjoying the group.This is evidenced by the consistentattendance. However, as you point out,

there have been increasing absencesrecently which coincide with the shift infocus of the group. I believe that therecurring absences are due to this changein focus.

Supervision groups are a very differentanimal from therapy groups. In a therapygroup, the focus of the work is onhelping an individual resolve the personalissues they bring into the group.Regardless of the type of therapy group,this is the focus of the work. In asupervision group, the focus of the workis on patient care. This is a very importantdistinction as it results in a very differentrelationship with the people with whomyou are working. There are manydifferent styles of supervision, but

regardless of your style, it isimportant to remember thatsupervision is not the same astherapy. You have a verydifferent arrangement with asupervisee even though at timesthe work can look the same. Insupervision, the focus shouldremain on patient care.

As a result of the difference inrelationship, the contract youmake with your supervisee isdifferent from the one youwould make with a patient.With a supervisee, your contractneeds to be reflective of thework they are doing with their patients. You need to be

specific about the nature of thesupervision and what it will focus on. Ifyour interest is to focus on transferenceand countertransference or the parallelprocess, then the work of the groupshould be to focus on how the feelingsthat are coming up in the supervisee arerelated to the patient and not therelationships in the group. This honorsthe supervisory contract. It certainly isprobable that interpersonal issuesbetween members will come up in thegroup and may have to be dealt with butthat should be secondary to the primaryfocus of patient care. Once you move intothe territory of personal disclosure, theslope becomes slippery and this can getmessy very quickly, especially in your typeof agency setting. These people need towork together. They rely on each otherfor their financial well being. Some of themembers have evaluative relationshipswith other members of the group. Thishas the potential for disaster if the groupgets into personal revelation.

This question-and-answer column appearsregularly in the Newsletter and addressescomplex dilemmas in group therapy.Featured are case vignettes presented byNSGP members, with responses by seniorclinicians. If you have a question youwould like considered for this column,please submit a case vignette of 400words or less to Theresa Bullock Cohen,LICSW through the NSGP office, or viaemail to newsletter@nsgp.com. (Pleaseremember to preserve the confidentialityof any group members described.)

“Has my rather

cavalier

attitude about

ties outside the

group revealed

a blind spot on

my part and a

recipe for

disaster?”

9

When reading your information, it isunclear what your full contract is withthese supervisees. I assume you havediscussed with them what the goals ofthe group are. If you haven't, you need toclarify this. The two parts of theagreement you do mention areconfidentiality and no outside discussionof group content or group business. Ithink it is unrealistic to expect thesemeetings to remain fully confidential orthat there will be no discussion ofcontent outside the group. If membersare discussing patient care, it is inevitablethat this will need to be discussed outsidethe group.

So the first thing Irecommend is rethink yourcontract. The vagueness ofthe current contract has ledto confusion about what the group is really about aswell as to a lack of safety. Is it about presenting casematerial or is it about therelationships in the room?What did they sign up for? Iwould encourage you tomake the focus of the groupmuch more explicit. Make sure you takeinto account the agency setting and thedual relationships of your members. Iwould keep the focus on casepresentations (and feelings that arisearound the patients). I believe if youclarify the contract and get members toagree, the group can be turned around. I believe the group has become too close for comfort and needs to be cooled down.

Lastly, I would like to point out that it isoften easy to blur the boundary betweentherapy and supervision. But, as we see inthis group, that is a slippery slope thatcan often lead to problems. This group isa good example of the potential pitfalls.

Arnold Cohen, PhD, CGP, FAGPA

✺

Dear Too Close for Comfort (or Allin the Family)

Given that we all have “work” families, Iprefer this title for your dilemma. A goodand reasonable goal would be to have asupervision group that is close andcomfortable, rather than too close forcomfort.

First and foremost, the “transformation”you describe in which your supervisiongroup began to look like apsychodynamically oriented processgroup speaks to your being able to createan atmosphere of openness as well assafety. Your group has been ongoing forfour years. The group obviouslyexperienced your leadership as enablingthem to look more closely at theirreactions and responses to their work andto each other. This indeed reflects aprofessional presence which facilitatedtheir experience in the group.

The issue and problem isthat the “transformation”occurred without cleargoals, structure, andagreements. This is criticalfor maintaining the integrityand safety of the group.The leader of a supervisiongroup has the role ofcreating an environment inwhich the potential of thegroup as a learning spacecan be realized as fully aspossible.

The recent attendanceissues and time off that you describeprobably have something to do with thechange in status of one of the regularmembers and the group’s lack of clarity. Itis unclear whether or not this has everbeen discussed in the group. My firstinclination was to suggest ending thisgroup and beginning a new group withvery specific goals, structure, andagreements. This would be an option.Another option would be to re-negotiatethe current group agreements and beginagain with those individuals who chooseto commit to a new group.

Let me go on to address your concernsand questions.

Your central contractual features ofconfidentiality and no outside discussionamong members around group contentor business is a good start for re-negotiating a new group agreement. Tiesoutside the group need not be viewed asundermining group cohesion. Thereneeds to be a clear agreement that allthat occurs in the group stays in thegroup and that violations of thisagreement are explored and processed.Such an understanding will promotesafety and containment.

Sub-groupings and hierarchicalrelationships are inevitable in work

settings. The best preparation for dealingwith these complex challenges is yourattendance to the task of the group. Themore clearly you keep your eye on theball of the group's purpose and goals,the more this will ensure its survival andintegrity.

It is important to remember that this isnot a therapy group. You are not atherapist but rather a facilitator of groupprocess. In this role, you are notattending to the members as patients orclients, e.g. selecting the members, beingaware and knowledgeable about theirhistories, or concerned with symptoms orcharacter issues. Your main goal and roleas the leader is to facilitate the process asit relates to case management or aclinical issue.

If a supervision group explores their ownprocess — this must be articulated andagreed to by the members. Even then,this is challenging. Mental healthprofessionals often feel anxious andvulnerable to a here and now or parallelprocess in group supervision. It is mucheasier to focus on the “other,” i.e., thecase. Again, if the purpose or main taskof the group is to explore one's personalor countertransference reaction to aparticular case, then this must be clearlyexplicated and agreed to by themembers. I might add here that thisfocus would necessitate the membershaving some training and experience. Itwould also be imperative that the leaderbe familiar with this method. I refer youto the work of David Altfeld and EleanorCounselman and Peter Gumpert.

You have an unusually rich opportunity—using your group therapy skills tomanage the process — to engage asupervision group that is supportive,nurturing, and safe. Whether the groupends and begins again with new goals,structure, and agreements or re-negotiates its goals, structure, andagreements, it will be an experience thathas the potential of being meaningful,deep, and effective.

Joanne Lipner, LICSW, CGP

✺

“In a supervision

group, the focus

of the work is

on patient care.

This is a very

important

distinction.”

On Writing, ParallelProcess, and GroupNancy Goldner LICSW, PhD, CGP

A few years ago, I hatched an ideafor a self-help book. Early on, I

produced a chapter-by-chapter outlineand completed a draft of two chapterswith two more to write. But, for the lastsix months, I have been stuck. I am quitefrustrated at feeling stuck. My final twochapters remain unwritten even asthoughts about them keep swirling aboutin my mind.

How to get unstuck? Through aninteresting experience of parallel processunfolding between a long term patientand me, I realize the answer may come inutilizing the power of group.

Parallel Process

Jane (not her real name) is “stuck” withher book project having had many stopsand starts. She is an associate professor ata large university. Her difficulty starting towrite and complete a book based on heroriginal research was the main reason shesought therapy with me some years ago.This is the “missing piece” from herCurriculum Vitae (CV), the record of heracademic accomplishments. The fact ofits absence from her CV causes Jane greatanguish, even shame, despite her otherconsiderable accomplishments. Janeknows that with a contract to publish herbook from an academic publisher, shewould be promoted to full professor at ahigher salary but she will not put herselfforward for promotion without a bookcontract. As a result, Jane carries a deepsense of inferiority in relation to heracademic peers.

In therapy, Jane is becoming aware ofwhat underlies her writing inhibition. Attimes, this awareness opened up newpsychological space for her in which shegets temporarily “unstuck.” However,unblocking and finishing her book still isthe main focus of the clinical work Janeand I are doing together.

Something revelatory happened when Iput on my own “writer’s hat” a few yearsago. I entered into parallel process withJane. The term parallel process refers to adynamic that arises when a patient’sparticular issue is simultaneously echoedin a therapist’s own subjective experience.Specifically, I began to experience myown “writer’s block,” that universalresistance among writers, and now couldsay with compelling immediacy, “this is

what being stuck feels like,” thisagonizing push and pull that Jane mustgo through on a daily basis, thisparalyzing approach-avoidance conflict.

A clear example from a recent sessionwith Jane shows how parallel processactually unfolded between us. At thissession, Jane told me she had beenwriting a grant application to financeresearch for a second book she is thinkingabout doing. As I heard this, I felt criticaltowards her for not focusing on hercurrent book project even though Janecommunicated feeling positive aboutwriting at all. Then, with someencouragement by a colleague, a fewdays later, I sat down at my computer towrite this short article for the NSGPnewsletter. I realized that just by writingthis article, I felt validated in my capacityto put my words on paper and evenenjoyed doing so. In other words, I flexedmy heretofore slack “writing muscles,” asit were, just as Jane was doing by writinga grant application, although neither ofus was working on our book manuscriptsat this point. Just as in physical exercise, Iknow we will need to repeat our “writingworkouts” in a consistent way for our“writing muscles” to keep beingdeveloped and strengthened.

Even if both Jane and I remain “stuck”for now, my experience of parallel processhas given me a useful tool for increasingmy empathy for her writing inhibition andself-compassion for my own. Just asuseful for both of us, I had traced theroots of Jane’s “writer’s block” to herexpectation of negative criticism fromprospective editors and readers, anexpectation arising from an introjecteddisaffirming parental voice from herchildhood. In a parallel way, I also hear adisaffirming voice. This gave me newinsight into how creativity is thwarted byletting toxic introjects from the past be incontrol in the here-and-now as Jane and Iwrestle with the push and pull of sittingdown to write. Through my parallelprocess with Jane, I have become acutelyaware that a fear of being harshly judgedholds both of us back from the fullflowering of our innate talent andaspirations.

Why a Writing Group

So if insight and understanding are notsufficient for us to get unstuck andcomplete our book projects, what elsecould be? From many years of leading

and being part of groups, I know that agroup experience can counter the toxicintrojects that thwart our aspirations andstall our creative process. This happenswhen a group functions as a good parentto the members, filling in maturationalgaps.

For a child to get the best start in life, herparent needs to provide affirmation,approval, structure and direction. Janeand I did not have that best start, so asadults we struggle to unleash our creativepotential. We struggle to take ourselvesby the hand and say, “now it’s time towrite,” just as a good parent would say,“now it’s time to do your homework.”We struggle not to succumb to thedisaffirming internalized parentalmessages as we face the eternal blankpage and, instead, to hear anencouraging voice. We struggle not tofeel hopeless about getting back towriting and, instead, to engage our senseof mastery.

By joining a writing group, each of uswould no longer be alone in our struggle.That is why I risked suggesting it to Janewhen we considered ways to support hergetting unstuck. Like a good parent, awriting group could provideencouragement and convey hope; Iimagine the group members saying, “Youcan do this.” A group could provideaffirmation and approval; I imagine thegroup members saying, “This is good,needs editing but it’s still good.” A groupcould provide structure and direction; Iimagine the group members saying,“Commit to bringing new material eachtime we meet.” And a group couldexpress pride in my accomplishment; Iimagine the group members saying,“Great job” when I tell them I havecompleted my manuscript.

Jane did not follow up on my suggestionto find and join a writing group. This fitswith Jane’s tendency to isolate, a behaviorpattern that no doubt also gets in theway of her getting unstuck. With greattrepidation, she did seek feedback from acolleague. We both acknowledge thatthis took courage on her part. As for me,I am still looking for a “good parent”writing group of my own.

✺

10

The theme of this year’s conference has to do with the impact of technology and instant communication on therelationships in which we are involved and the work that we do. In that context, many important questions and concerns arise. For example, what constitutes the boundary between private information and public exposure when the internethas become a major, if not primary, modality of social connection? Does not our experience and meaning of con-nectedness change if we can connect 24/7 without ever meeting?Although Facebook has brought us to a universe in which we can know so much more about each other, do wenot wonder if anyone is recognizing the boundaries that exist between people? Perhaps more importantly, doesnot the very concept of boundaries, need redefinition?And while we might marvel that Skype has offered clinicians a modality for supervision and training over distance,do we not, should we not, harbor significant concerns and misgivings about such progress? We hope that the Conference will stimulate ideas about this topic and provide a format to recognize, discuss, andfruitfully help each other to better understand this significant cultural phenomenon. In that regard, both the two-part Special Presentation and the Experience Group have been integrated thematically this year; we urge you toplan to attend all three events.The Rice Memorial Fund, with its mission to advance knowledge in the area of trauma prevention and treatment,joined to develop and sponsor the Special Presentation.

Special PresentationSocial Networking and The Group SelfSaturday’s panelists will explore some of the benefits and ethical and clinical concernsthat have arisen as boundaries and conventions of privacy have shifted.They are:

Lise Motherwell, PhD, PsyD, CGP, FAGPAAndrew Eig, PhD, ABPPRichard Billow, PhD, ABPP

Sunday’s panelists will describe different projects promoting community and mental health which rely on technological assists.They are:

Jeffrey Kleinberg, PhD, MPH, ABPP, FAGPA, CGPRichard Fletcher, PhD

Demonstration GroupGroup Without Borders: Group Support Across DistanceThe Demonstration group will bring the virtual group into the same space as the real,with group members meeting initially remotely from the leader, and then processingthe experience in a face-to-face format. The group will be more like a consultation andtraining group, however, than a process-oriented therapy group.

Group Therapy:Face Time in The Age of Facebook

The conference brochure is available online at www.nsgp.com and you can register online.

N S G PNortheastern Society for Group Psychotherapy

The 32nd Annual NSGP ConferenceJune 14, 15, 16, 2013

Simmons College, Boston, MA

11

*NSGP Special Event*

Psychiatric Medications 101Sunday, April 7, 2013

5:00–7:45 pm

The NSGP Training Committee invites you to attend an intimate evening with colleagues and presenter

David Dybdal, MD, PhDMedical Director of NSGP, a Boston psychiatrist in private practice and a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry for Harvard Medical School.

The event will be a brief overview of and discussion about psychiatric medications for non-MD’s, including general classes of medications,

indications for use, side effects, and resources for further exploration.

Hosted by: Steffen Fuller (Newton, MA)

Fees: $35 for NSGP members$40 for non-NSGP members

Seating is limited to 20 people. Light supper will be served.Continuing Education credits will be offered.

Please RSVP to Susan Wade at:groups@nsgp.com

(Directions to be provided prior to event for those registered)

New to NSGP, I am pleased to introduce myprivate practice in Cambridge. My practiceprovides individual, couples, and grouppsychotherapy for adults. Referrals are welcome.

Childhood Trauma GroupNow Forming

I am now accepting referrals for an ongoingchildhood trauma group to help men and womenunderstand the impact of early trauma on theircurrent lives and relationships. A second groupwill be starting this spring. The fee is $50 persession. The group will meet on Monday eveningsin Porter Square, Cambridge.

For more information about my practice, pleasecall or send me an email. Please also visit my web site.

Amy Mat ias PhD, L ICSW5 Upland Road, Suite 2, Cambridge MA 02140(617) 650-9829 amy@matiascounseling.com

www.matiascounseling.com

This is a support group for women who have grown

children with a major mental illness. Having a positive

relationship with an adult child with a major mental

illness requires great skill and the ability to tolerate

distress. These mothers are filled with love and fear,

concern and helplessness, an overwhelming desire to

help, the wish for a road map and the desire for a

crystal ball. With this in mind, this support group will

encourage good self care and promote resilience. It

will meet on the second and fourth Wednesday of

each month from 6:00-7:30 p.m. near Harvard

Square. The fee is $45.

To make a referral, please feel free to contact me at

(617) 661-5310 or deboracarmichael@verizon.net.

I look forward to working with you,

Debora Carmichael, PhD, CGP

Support and Self Care Group for Mothers of Adult Children

with Major Mental Illnesses

12

13

Getting to Know…Susan Wade, NSGPOffice ManagerJenn McLain, MD, CGP

T his February, I sat down with SusanWade at the NSGP office in Belmont

to get to know our organization’s newestoffice manager.

JM: How long have you been workingwith us?

SW: Since August.

JM: What were you doing before?

SW: I used to own a bead store down theroad, and I sold it 2 years ago. I still teachbeading and sell my own jewelry.

JM: How did you learn about theopportunity at NSGP?

SW: I was thinking of getting a part-timejob. I must have sent out about 100resumes. [NSGP] just caught my eye. Itwas a nonprofit organization, and theoffice is less than 4 minutes from where Ilive. In my mind, I thought, “This could bethe last one I send out” because I had notbeen getting a lot of responses, and thenDeb Carmichael called and weinterviewed over the phone.

JM: How has the transition been,from the creative side to this?

SW: I have done administrative work allmy life, but this is the first time I haven’tbeen trained! But everybody has been sohelpful and understanding that it makesup for it.

JM: That sounds a bit intimidating.And I remember Peter [Gumpert]writing about your organizing theoffice.

SW: Yes, we’re slowly working to get itpresentable, in the hopes that if someonewants to have a meeting, this is analternative place they can use. Wecleaned up records that have been heresince the ‘50s!

JM: What’s been the most enjoyablething about the job? The mostchallenging?

SW: The most challenging has beengetting the approvals for the ContinuingEducation credits. It’s nerve-racking! Ifyou don’t do it correctly, they’ll kick itback. And enjoyable…all the members.Everyone is just so pleasant.

JM: Tell me some fun facts aboutyourself outside of work.

SW: I’ve been married for about 200years — for 27 years, with 2 grown boys,a dog and a cat. I still live in the town Igrew up in, still have my best friends fromJunior High. I have been making jewelry,that’s a big part of my life, and we wereraised to volunteer, so I used to volunteertime at the Watertown Library, and rightnow I have a friend who is very ill and soseveral of us are taking turns helping outto allow her to stay in her home.

JM: How did you get into jewelrymaking?

SW: I’m actually disabled myself, and Ihad to have some surgeries and stay inbed after that, and … a good friend ofmine had started beading, and sheshowed me a particular stitch, and afterthat it was over. I can’t draw a straightline, so I never thought I’d be able to doanything like this. I have severeRheumatoid Arthritis, and beading theythink has actually kept my hands fromturning into claws. It takes me longer todo things than other beaders, and I mightdo it a little differently, but I’ve also met alot of handicapped people that I’vetaught—I taught a blind person one time.

JM: Do you feel comfortable with mymentioning your disability in thearticle?

SW: Yes. I want people to know thatwhen you have a sudden sickness orillness, that sometimes there is hope. Imean, your life changes, definitely, but itdoesn’t have to all be for the worst.

JM: I imagine you must have watcheda lot of movies during your recoveriesas well. Do you have a favorite moviegenre?

SW: Horror. My husband won’t watchthem, he thinks it’s strange, but my sonsand I watch them together.

JM: What’s the best piece ofinformation or advice you’ve pickedup in life so far?

SW: Don’t give up.

JM: Being in Boston, I have to askabout your favorite sports team?

SW: My favorites are the Bruins and theRed Sox. The Patriots I like because mygodchild’s older sister was a cheerleaderfor them until last year.

JM: NSGP members have been knownto enjoy telling jokes at times. Do youhave a favorite joke?

SW: I love them! I can’t think of any now,but I like silly, silly jokes.

JM: Is there any experience with agroup in your life that stands out toyou?

SW: My friends from Junior High, there’slike 5 or 6 of us, and we know we areunique in that we are all still very close,our kids are close, we are all still in thetown we grew up in, and our familieshave histories in Watertown. We’ve justbeen so close and supportive of eachother.

JM: Has having that group of peoplein your life made a difference,allowed you to do something youwouldn’t have done otherwise?

SW: It makes you feel accepted. I knowthat no matter what I do, they’ll be therefor me and I will be there for them. WhenI first got sick, I was in a wheelchair andmy children were little, and my friendswere there to pick them up frompreschool so that my husband couldcontinue to work.

JM: Anything else you’d like ourmembership to know about you?

SW: If they have any questions aboutanything, feel free to call me. Manypeople here already have my cell phonenumber. They can always call me.

JM: Any no-call hours?

SW: No, actually. If I’m busy, I have noproblem not answering my phone.[laughs] I’m not a slave to my cell phone.

✺

NSGP FoundationHolds Tribute forAnne Alonso

A nne Alonso was an inspirationalleader who shared her passion for

group with countless trainees andcolleagues. A stalwart believer in thepower of groups to heal, Anne was agenerous and gifted teacher, supervisor,and mentor. To mark the 5th anniversaryof her death and to pay homage to hergroup work, the NSGP Foundation held atribute to Anne on November 11, 2012 atthe home of Pat Doherty. We askedseveral colleagues to comment on Anne’swork and her impact on them.

From Jerry Gans:

Anne was a wonderful mentor andlooking back, I can identify a number oftraits that made her mentoring sosuccessful: generosity, authenticity,integrity, honesty, warmth, andcompassion. Anne had a marvelous abilityto get people involved, to inspire themand, most amazingly, to help them realizeabilities they did not know theypossessed, and to accomplish things theynever thought possible.

As an example, Anne was instrumental inmy writing journal articles, providingsound advice, encouragement, andconstructive criticism. There is no doubt inmy mind that my writing and publishingsuccess would not have been possiblewithout Anne’s confidence in me and herongoing guidance and support. Inaddition, I have been inspired to giveback, to collaborate on several paperswith younger authors, mentoring them inturn. I am one of a large number ofpresent-day mentors for whom Anneprovided primary mentoring.

It is not only what Anne did, but also theway she did it that inspired so manypeople to realize the best in them. Anneworked very hard, took courageousstands on important and controversialissues, and followed through onresponsibilities she had assumed. Anneplayed the cards she was dealt and neverwhined: instead she persevered with asense of determination, optimism, andcreativity.

A portrait of Anne would not becomplete without noting that with allAnne’s brilliance, creativity, andachievement, she was a lot of fun, shewas playful, and she loved a good laugh.

14

Caption This!Please submit a caption for this cartoon to newsletter@nsgp.com.

The winning entries will be announced in the next issue.

Drawn by David Goldfinger

Winners for the Fall, 2012 cartoonSelected by the Cartoon Committee

(Ellen Ziskind, Alan Witkower, & Oona Metz)

Fourth runner up: “I thought he welcomed ALL feelings, including murderous rage.”—Lise

Motherwell Third runner up: “I heard that group can be scary, but this is really scary.” —Bet MacArthurSecond runner up: “Wow! We should rethink the ‘words can never hurt you’ thing.”—George

DominiakFirst runner up:“Just like Joe, always wanting to be the center of attention.”—Marian MenkelThe winning caption: “Wow! That interpretation really fell flat!”—Steve Haut

I(continued on page 15)

From Priscilla Kauff:

Anne had a natural talent for formingand maintaining connections. She urgedme out of a semi-retirement from AGPAafter my children were born, inviting meto come to Atlanta and participate withher on a panel. She encouraged methroughout the writing of a chapter onpsychoanalytic group psychotherapy forher book with Hillel Swiller that wasbeing stalled by illness in my family. Sheinvited me to join the faculty at theCenter for Psychoanalytic Studies, andwhile driving to Harvard every threeweeks wasn’t always easy, it was alwaysfun and worthwhile.

In the spring of 2006, Anne invited me togo to the Shanghai Mental Health Center.Our mission to teach analytic therapymorphed almost immediately into a full-scale introduction to analytic grouppsychotherapy for which our Chinesecolleagues were enthusiastically hungry.Many of that original group are now theleaders of group therapy in Shanghai andelsewhere in China. This is exactly whatAnne and I hoped for during and longafter our visit. She would have beenthrilled to see how our work evolved.

I miss Anne at AGPA because our timealways included crazy shopping trips anddinners with close friends that were zanyand warm and nourishing (if somewhattipsy). I miss her on the phone and e-mail,sharing news of our families, gossip, andsometimes even profound thoughts. Iwish I could still do that with her but I willdo it inside for as long as I can.

From Scott Rutan:

I met Anne in the early 1970’s and wasfortunate enough to be able to call hermy friend and my colleague from thenuntil her untimely death in 2007. Weworked together, led an observed grouptogether, wrote together, had officesside-by-side, taught together, and playedtogether all those years.

When we first met, Anne had only herMaster’s Degree, and it was not even inpsychology. It was earned at Harvard’sSchool of Education. That was a source ofconsiderable embarrassment to her at thetime, whereas for me, I found it ameasure of her enormous abilities that inthe 1970’s and 1980’s in the male-dominated, physician-dominated world ofthe Massachusetts General HospitalDepartment of Psychiatry, Anne wasperhaps the most sought after teacher inthe department.

Anne was a born teacher. She wouldexpend boundless energy in her teaching.In fact, she would expend boundlessenergy in most anything that attractedher passion. Everything she touched, sheimpacted in a major way. Some exampleswould include The Massachusetts GeneralDepartment of Psychiatry, The BostonInstitute for Psychotherapy, The FieldingInstitute, The Northeastern Society forGroup Psychotherapy, and the AmericanGroup Psychotherapy Association.Sheserved as President of the latter two.

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,For the lesson thou hast taught!Thus at the flaming forge of lifeOur fortunes must be wrought;Thus on its sounding anvil shapedEach burning deed and thought.

—The last stanza of Longfellow’s The Village Blacksmith.

From Libby Shapiro:

Those of you who know that I workedclosely with Anne at MGH for 20 yearsmight assume that I would write aboutAnne at work. No, I want to write aboutAnne’s eggplant. I don’t know if this dishhas a name — I doubt it — probably justsome dish she learned to make early onand perfected over the years, but it mightjust be the most delicious dish I’ve evereaten. I can get all choked up thinkingabout Anne’s eggplant and I think it’sbecause it encapsulates everything I lovedabout her.

When Anne hosted and fed us, she did itwith such effortless grace.

Anne always made me feel like there wasnowhere else she’d rather be than whereshe was, sharing her culinary delights,sharing a laugh, sharing her wisdom.

Although Anne became comfortablefinancially and was internationallyrenowned, she was never fussy,pretentious, or showy in any way. Hereggplant was emblematic of hertruthfulness to her roots and to herself.

I loved the way Anne howled when I toldher about my then five year old son’s loveof her lobster bisque, steak, andeggplant. The next time I was over fordinner, she made the eggplant dish andmade sure to cook enough leftovers forhim. I miss Anne’s grace, her generosity,genuineness, thoughtfulness, and herhearty sense of humor. There was somuch more I wanted to share, so muchmore I had to learn and so much more Iwanted to give. Anne lived her life withsuch passion that I, probably all of you,and certainly all the eggplants in theworld will never be the same without her.

✺

15

Pat Doherty, Ramon Alonso, & Lise Motherwell

Priscilla Kauff & Jerry Gans

NSGP Foundation Holds Tribute for AnneAlonso(continued from page 14)

Scholarship Fund to Honor Anne AlonsoSo many of us were fortunate to benefit from Anne’s gifts as a teacher,mentor, friend, and supervisor that we want to “pay it forward.” At Anne’stribute, we initiated an NSGP Foundation scholarship fund in her honor tosupport group therapy training, a passion of hers. We have already raised$5,000. If we raise $20,000 by December 2013 we will further honor her bynaming the fund after her. This fall, donors to the scholarship fund wereeligible to win two theater tickets donated by the Merrimack RepertoryTheater and Steve Cadwell was the lucky winner!

Please send your own generous contributions to: NSGP Foundation, P.O. Box356, Belmont, MA 02478. Please put “Scholarship Fund” in the memo field. You can also donate online by going to http://nsgpf.org/pathways.aspxand selecting the Scholarship Fund.

CPT Code WorkshopCarolyn Stone, EdD, CGP

L ate one Sunday afternoon in January,about a dozen NSGP members

gathered at the home of Peter Gumpertand Sue Silviera to learn about the newCPT codes. The workshop was sponsoredby the NSGP Practice Development TaskForce and Oona Metz had invited thespeaker, Dave Wisholek, from StreamlineHealth Care Solutions. Dave offered atreasure trove of useful information, notjust about the new codes, but also aboutcoding in general and how to documentone’s work. Dave’s business does billingfor many mental health practices andindividual practitioners. He had done agreat deal of research with insurancecompanies trying to find out what theyrequire in documentation and what theyare likely to pay for the new codes. It wasclear to us that Dave knows the ropesand he knows where the risks lie.

Dave provided handouts that included across walk linking the old codes to thenew ones, explained the different timeranges in the codes, and offeredinformation about coding and billing. Forinstance, did you know that if a client islate enough that he is not there for at

least 38 minutes, you cannot bill for a fullindividual session (90834)? You aresupposed to down code to the shorter90832 (16-37 minutes). What happens toyour compensation? Dave says that somepractitioners bill clients for the portion ofthe session they missed or a late fee.Interesting. Perhaps I need to amend mypractice agreement.

Other interesting tidbits came up aroundbilling for couples and family therapy.Many of us have long known thatinsurances do not cover treatment for arelationship. But it is still a commonpractice to bill and code couples therapyas family therapy and assign one memberof the couple as the identified patient.According to Dave, insurances areclamping down on this practice. Davecautioned us that if we do bill insurancefor couples’ therapy that our notes needto reflect that the purpose of thetreatment is to treat the identified client’sdiagnosis under one of three conditions:1. there is a need to observe the client’s

interactions with family; 2. there is a need to assess the family’s

capability to manage the patient orto assist the family in managing theclient; or

3. the client is comatose or uncommuni-cative due to a mental disorder.

Dave believes that insurance companieswill be doing more audits and taking backmoney if the services are not properlydocumented. This news caused someattendees to consider no longer billinginsurance for couples work.

As a child therapist, I have always usedthe interactive codes, and I went into themeeting thinking that I could no longerdo that. I was encouraged by the veryspecific criteria that Dave provided. Heexplained how to set up the claim formto bill for interactive complexity as well ashow to document it so that we areprepared if audited. In this case thetherapist bills two services for the client atthe same time, for instance, individualpsychotherapy and the interactive code.The note for the interactive code shouldspecify which of four possible conditionsfor the interactive code were met: 1. managing maladaptive

communication (high anxiety, highreactivity, repeated questions ordisagreement;

16

N E W O F F E R I N G

ADVERTISE YOUR PRACTICE,GROUPS or OFFICE SPACE in the next NSGP NEWSLETTER!

NSGP members can now purchase advertisement space.

All ads (except classifieds which can be text)MUST meet these requirements or will bereturned for revision:

1) Submitted as a high resolution PDF*with fonts embedded in the file.

2) Must be 300dpi at 100% size, black &white only.

*The PDFs should be ready to print directlyfrom the file without need for further processing.

$20 -Small Classified ad (25 words max) $50 -Business Card: 3.5”w x 2”h$100 -1/4 pg vert: 3.5”w x 5”h$200 -1/2 pg horizontal 7.125”w x 5”h or

1/2 pg vertical 3.5”w x 10”h

Questions? See details above or call the NSGP office at (617) 484-4994.

The ads will not be edited for accuracy.NSGP does not endorse these groups.

NSGP ReferralService

Looking for a Group?

www.nsgp.com(617) 484-4994

Group Psychotherapy offersa rich alternative or adjunct to

individual psychotherapy providing clients with an interpersonal experiencefor healing and growth.

I(continued on page 17)

17

Who Ya Gonna Call?You are picking up your office after your group at the end of theday. You're a little troubled. Something feels amiss and has felt thatway for a few weeks. Your attempts to address the dynamic havefallen flat, and you worry because some members are beginning totalk about what else they could do on Wednesday night. Yikes! Evenyour consultation group is stymied, or maybe you don’t have thatresource.

Who Ya Gonna Call?Worry not. You’re a member of NSGP, right? And NSGP is here to

help with the

Consultation Benefit.Here’s how you set up a consult. Call or e-mail Carolyn Stone(info@drcarolynstone.com or 617-630-1523). Carolyn or someoneon the committee finds out what your concern is and contacts twoor three senior people in NSGP who have agreed to offer one freehour of consultation per year. She gets back to you with the namesand you set up a time (in person or on the phone) with one of theconsultants.

That’s right. All members of NSGP are entitled to one free hour ofconsultation about group psychotherapy per calendar year. What adeal!

The Consultation Benefit cannot be used to address an emergencysituation. It is not available to students as they have consultation built intotheir programs.

2. caregivers’ emotions or behaviorsthat interfere with caregivers’ abilityto understand and assist in thetreatment plan;

3. evidence of abuse or neglect withreport to state agency; or

4. use of play equipment, physicaldevices, or interpretation in order tocommunicate with the provider.

For instance, I would note that I met witha 6 year old child who is unable to clearlyverbalize his concerns, and we used dollhouse play to help him do so. Dave didcaution us that frequent use of theinteractive codes might trigger an audit;thus, good documentation is important.

The hour went on with more specific yetoften disheartening information.According to Dave, there have beenrumors that insurance companies may

decrease their reimbursement for grouppsychotherapy even further. We weresurprised. It seems to us that group offersan effective and affordable mode oftreatment. Evidently that message hasnot gotten through. Insurers believe thatgroups are for psycho-education, nottreatment. As a result they do not wantto pay for them. There were murmursaround the table as people considered nolonger billing insurance for group.

We were grateful for the usefulinformation, though we were concernedabout the state of insurancereimbursement. All the same it is good toknow where you stand. This was a usefuland timely workshop.

✺

CPT Code Workshop(continued from page 16)

NSGP Foundation Retreat

Alan Witkower & Barbara Keezell

Peter Gumpert, Tracy Tibbetts, Walker Shields, & Kelley Bothe

Sara Emerson & Lise Motherwell

Space available in newly refurbished andredecorated Cambridge officeoverlooking Fresh Pond. Office is in wellappointed 5-office suite with kitchen andlarge waiting room, easy parking andelevator. Available up to six days a week,7 AM to 2 PM. Call Larry Kron 617-448-6237.Ongoing women’s group in Medford,ages 35-55. Focus on personal workrelationships, self-worth, assertiveness,anxiety. Accept BC/BS, Aetna, Tufts,selfpay. Call Beth Gingerich 781-396-2540Rivkah Lapidus, PhD, LMHC, CGPNorth Charles IncSubstance Abuse Outreach CoordinatorIMPACT clinician617-661-0405 North Charles617-666-2110 (mobile, office, andstudio)

CLASSIFIEDS

18

Progress Notes

Shoshana Ben-Noam conducted aworkshop entitled: “Benefits andLimitations of Therapist’s Self-Disclosure inGroup” at EGPS in New York City inNovember. In February, she also presented“Healing in The Wake of SuperstormSandy” to the Training Institute of MentalHealth in New York City and led a two-dayInstitute on the topic “Mother-DaughterInteraction through The Group’s Hall ofMirrors” at the Annual AGPA Conferencein New Orleans.

Eleanor Counselman recentlycompleted the Core Skills EmotionallyFocused Therapy (EFT) Training (Level 2)and is working towards certification as anEFT couples therapist. She also had anarticle called “Treating the Older Couple”published in the Fall 2012 EGPS Newsletter,and an article on peer supervision groupsis in press with the PsychotherapyNetworker.

Joe Doherty writes that he ischanging the focus of his practice fromdoing forensic work to working with adultmales. He is also moving his practice fromCambridge to Davis Square, Somervillewhere he has been told he will be theoldest person there, given that 27 yearolds are considered to be “grandparents!”

Sara Emerson is teaching GroupTherapy at BC GSSW this semester. Shewrites, “it is a rewarding and challengingexperience, but exciting to teach aboutand spread the ‘group’ word.” In addition,she led an Institute for clinicians with 10+years of experience at the AGPAconference in New Orleans in February.

Pamela Enders recently received the AGPA Affiliate Assembly Award forcontributions to NSGP. She presented a 3-hour workshop “Enhance YourProfessional Profile and Build Your ClinicalPractice Using The Power of SocialMedia/Social Networking” at the annualconference of the Maine PsychologicalAssociation in November 2012. Spurredon by the success of that event plus other similar workshops, Pamela hasstarted a coaching business to helppsychotherapists learn how to implementsocial media to build their practices. Onanother note, Pam continues to work onher book — The Mentally Tough Lawyer:Keep Your Cool, Think on Your Feet andWin. In October, she gave a workshop tothe New York City Bar on work-lifebalance and stress management and gavea similar talk to the Women’s BarAssociation in December. Additionally,Pamela, along with her colleague BillJawitz, is producing a series of podcastsfor the American Law Institute ContinuingLegal Education Group.

In November Bette Freedsonpresented an all-day training workshop atthe Sweetser Training Institute in Saco,Maine, entitled, “Reach Them While TheyDream/Deep Relaxation, Visualization and Didactics Can Combine to TeachEmotional and Social Skills to Kids.” InDecember, she presented a short course at the Milton H. Erickson Foundation’s 2012 Brief Therapy Conference, entitled, “Brief Therapy with Single Mothers/TheTransformational Alchemy of Metaphor.”In April, she will present another workshopat the Sweetser Training Institute,“Enhance Your Practice and Your Clients’Lives with Group Work,” and is lookingforward to the publishing in 2014 of heralmost-finished book, entitled SoulMothers’ Wisdom/Seven Insights for theSingle Mother.

Caren Glickson was recently licensedin Florida (in addition to previously-heldNY and CT licenses), where she isconducting intensive couples therapy atMount Sinai Medical Center in MiamiBeach. She also obtained BoardCertification in Group Psychotherapy fromthe ABPP in Sept 2012! She credits Skypesupervision with Cecil Rice for helpingher review everything she knows aboutgroup therapy immediately before the oralexam in Chicago, and hopes to bringanalytic group therapy to Miami.

Barbara Keezell led a two-dayInstitute at AGPA in New Orleans entitled“Projective Identification and Counter-transference.” She was also appointed toserve as Co-Chair, along with TheresaBullock Cohen, for the Local HostingArrangements Task Force for AGPA’s 2014conference, which will be held in Boston.

Lawrence Kron led a series of groupcounseling sessions for ALS staff at theLeonard Florence Center in Chelsea, MA.He also presented a workshop on thetopic “Money and the Group Therapist’sCountertransference” at the AGPAconference in New Orleans in February.

Joanne Lipner will be co-leading anexperiential workshop with KatherineMorrell at the New England Society forModern Group Studies Annual Workshopin Bar Harbor, Maine in July. The title is“The Cowardly Lion, The Tin Man, TheScarecrow, and Dorothy: The Group andthe Search for the Missing Pieces.”

Jenn McLain received her CGP thiswinter from the National Registry ofCertified Group Therapists. She ran a half-day workshop at the AGPA AnnualConference in February exploring theconcept of “labels” in group therapy, andis looking forward to honeymooning inSoutheast Asia this spring. On anothercelebratory personal note, her flag footballteam won their division's Superbowlchampionship for the second year in arow!

Oona Metz is happy to be starting afourth group this winter. She is lookingforward to attending AGPA in NewOrleans this year and leading a two-dayInstitute at AGPA next year. In the fall, shehosted an NSGP Practice DevelopmentTask Force Event at her new housefeaturing Pamela Enders, who engagedmembers on the topic of web marketing.

Progress Notes features a variety of items that reflect progress for NSGP membersor committees. Please let us know (newsletter@nsgp.com) if there’s anything you’dlike noted, whether an article you’ve published, a speech you’re giving, or a notablechange in your life.

Congratulationsto Pamela Enders, PhD, CGP,who was awarded the AGPAAffiliate Assembly Award forher contributions to theNortheastern Society for GroupPsychotherapy!

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Lise Motherwell and Joseph Shayare editing a 2nd Edition of ComplexDilemmas in Group Therapy: Pathways toResolution. It will contain two newchapters and many new dilemmas, and isexpected to be published in 2014.

David Poles has begun an ExecutiveCoaching service in the field of addictions.

Betsy Ross is looking forward torunning another “Divorce and Renewal”weekend in Connecticut this spring.

Scott Rutan will be the featuredspeaker at the Carolinas GroupPsychotherapy Society in Durham, NCin April, on “Intimacy in GroupPsychotherapy: Connecting, Interpretingand Confronting.” Later in the month, hewill also be the featured speaker, on thetopic of "Belonging as a Healing Factor inGroup Psychotherapy,” to the AustinGroup Psychotherapy Society in Austin,TX.

Daniel Schacht enjoyed teaching acourse on the clinical skills of familytherapy for the Boston University Schoolof Social Work this winter. Immersinghimself further into the identity ofsuburban dweller, he is also trying to learnhow to play golf.

Sharan Schwartzberg co-chairedthe open session “Manualization: TheGold Road to Group Therapy Practice” atthe AGPA Annual meeting March 1st withBernhard Strauss. She was also aPsychodynamic Process Group ExperienceInstitute Leader at that meeting, and wasawarded Fellow American GroupPsychotherapy Association (FAGPA) there.In addition, Sharan gave the KeynoteAddress: “Groups in Occupational Therapy— What for and How?” and led aworkshop, “Process Group Experience:The Functional Group Model,” for theIsraeli Society of Occupational Therapyand Israeli Association of GroupPsychotherapy at Tel Aviv University, Israelin February. Finally, she was an invitedspeaker to the Graduate Program inOccupational Therapy at the TokyoMetropolitan University in Tokyo lastNovember.

Marian Shapiro was thrilled — andamazed — this past Fall to be nominatedfor the Pushcart Prize for a poem,“Finding You,” that was published in theJournal of Modern Poetry. She writes, “Itwas such an honor. I went to the event, areading and award ceremony, in Chicago,being there and back in less than 24hours. But it was worth it.”

William Sharp is happy to have leasednew private practice space in Brookline forgroup, couples, and individual work.

Joe Shay presented “I Shoulda Beena Librarian: The Perils of Group Therapy(and the Joys)” at the MGH Center forGroup Psychotherapy Fall Dinner. Inaddition, he was the featured speaker atthe Annual Conference of the NorthernCalifornia Group Psychotherapy Societywhere he presented “ProjectiveIdentification Goes to the Movies.” Joealso presented “Betrayal in Relationships:Infidelity and Couples Therapy” to thePCFINE second year class and kicked offthe annual PCFINE Faculty Dinner with atalk entitled, “I Thought It Would Be EasierThan This: The Perils of Couples Therapy.”In February, he chaired a panel “MappingTheory to Technique: Where the ModelMeets the Method” at the AGPA AnnualConference in New Orleans. Finally, Joereviewed The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook ofGroup Psychotherapy in the latest issue of IJGP.

Carolyn Stone gave a talk to parentsof children at the Riverbend School inNatick in January. Her topic was “Tired ofNagging? Ways to Increase Cooperation inYour Family.”

Maxine Sushelsky is participating inthe Massachusetts Mental HealthCounselors Association training programto become a Certified LMHC Supervisor.

Marsha Vannicelli presented aworkshop with Jeffrey Mendell at theannual meeting of AGPA entitled"Endings: the Bitter and the Sweet.” Shehas also been asked to write an overviewchapter on group therapy and substancefor the second edition of the bookComplex Dilemmas in Group Therapy byJoe Shay and Lise Motherwell.

Last fall, Bob Weber led a sevensession reading/discussion group for theXaverian Brothers’ retirement communityin Danvers, MA entitled “Pilgrimage into the Last Third of Life: 7 Gateways to Spiritual Growth.” In January, hetraveled to Mepkin Abbey, a Trappistmonastery in South Carolina, to co-leadthe inaugural workshop and retreat forthe Contemplative Aging Group, aninitiative of the monks at the monastery toserve baby boomers and beyond in theirspiritual journeys.

Kurt White is excited to be taking onnew responsibilities as Director ofAmbulatory Services at the BrattleboroRetreat hospital in Brattleboro, VT. His newposition will involve overseeing outpatientmental health and addiction services,intensive outpatient and partialhospitalization services including theuniformed service workers program. He islikewise excited about the upcomingopening of a behavioral chronic painmanagement program, where allinterventions will be group based. He willcontinue his direct clinical work andteaching responsibilities.

Ellen Ziskind co-edited a book calledInternal Family Systems Therapy: NewDimensions published by Routledge inFebruary.

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Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy, Inc.PO Box 356 Belmont, MA 02478-3201(617) 484-4994www.nsgp.com

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Group Therapy:Face Time in The Age of Facebook

NSGP’s 32nd Annual Conference!June 14, 15 & 16, 2013

For more information or to sign up, please contact the office at 617-484-4994 or groups@nsgp.com.

2013-2014 NSGP Events CalendarApr. 7, 2013 SPECIAL EVENT:

Psychiatric Medications 101David Dybdal, MD, PhD

Apr. 14, 2013 Breakfast Club 11-1:30 — with Judith Silverstein, PhDSexual Addiction and Compulsion

Hosted by Jim Leone—BelmontJune 14-16, 2013 Register Early! Register Online!

Group Therapy: Face Time in The Age of Facebook32nd Annual Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy Conference

Sept. 22, 2013 Breakfast Club 11-1:30 — with Theresa Bullock Cohen, LICSWMarketing Your Private Practice

Hosted by Eleanor Counselman—Belmont Oct. 20, 2013 Breakfast Club 11-1:30 — with Oona Metz, LICSW, CGP

Field Notes from a Psychodynamic Therapist Leading Divorce Support Groups. Is it “Support” or IsIt “Therapy” and What Is the Difference Anyway?

Hosted by Scott Rutan—Chestnut Hill Dec. 8, 2013 Breakfast Club 11-1:30 — with Nancy Goldner, PhD, LICSW, CGP

Attachment Style and Living Solo: Group Psychotherapy with Single AdultsHosted by Barbara Keezell—Newton

Jan. 12, 2014 Breakfast Club 11-1:30 —with Bob Weber, PhD, CGPSpirituality in Groups

Hosted by Geri & Scott Reinhardt—Newton Mar. 3-8, 2014 AGPA in BOSTON!

Stay Tuned for further information!Mar. 23, 2014 Breakfast Club 11-1:30 —with Maxine Sushelsky, LMHC

What’s Grief Got to Do with It: Traveling through Loss with Clients Hosted by Julie Anderson—Brookline

Apr. 13, 2014 Breakfast Club 11-1:30 —with Joel Krieg, LICSWTransitions in Group Leadership

Hosted by Joyce & Walker Shields—Belmont