Elena Vladimirovna Perminova, psychologist-psychoanalyst, specialist in family and couples psychotherapy, group analyst, candidate of biological sciences Man is a social being, or rather biopsychosocial. Just as without a mirror we cannot see a significant part of our body, Likewise, most of our mental essence (our feelings, experiences, their nature) is not visible to us without reflection by Others. The formation and development of a person’s personality occurs in interaction with Others, first with parents or other significant people, later with the rest of the world. It is in a group that we can simultaneously see multiple reflections of our personal aspects and patterns of behavior. And in a therapeutic group, this can be done in a safe environment with a leader, understand the nature of difficulties and take a different look at internal resources, try new effective ways of behavior and interaction. What the group gives The group acts as a model of social relationships in which a person is involved from birth. But there are a number of very important differences from everyday communication and discussions among friends and like-minded people. Working in a group provides many opportunities: in the sphere of relationships (family, work, other social groups) to explore, understand and adjust your relationships in the “here and now” situation with others, learn more adaptive behavior in various life situations, and, thanks to a completely different level of self-awareness and a better understanding of other people’s motives and intentions, learn to build interaction with other people at a qualitatively new level and enjoy communication; in solving personal problems (symptom resolution) to answer problematic questions and cope with difficulties in the personal, professional and social spheres through the study of causes, to more deeply understand one’s own resources, unique abilities and capabilities, as well as hidden needs, and accept them, learn to manage your emotional state, including interacting with aggression, coping with traumatic situations, expanding opportunities for personal growth and development, achieving sustainable deep personal changes, and, as a result, improving the quality of life in all areas; in search of existential meaning, reassessment of the main values ​​in life, rethink the feeling of oneself in this world, one’s own value and the meaning of life, look from the other side at one’s own resources and needs, understand and accept oneself; find an opportunity to realize one’s desires, plans and dreams, receive satisfaction from life. When you work in a group, the whole group works for you. When you work with one therapist, therapy is built on dyadic (pair) relationships (everything comes from the interaction of two people). In a group, both the heterogeneity of the individual characteristics of the participants and the possibility of multiple consensus (coordination of interests and opinions), and the group as a whole as a factor, work for you. You can get to know yourself and others as much as possible. A group can “accommodate” and process more feelings and experiences than an individual person; it can provide a wide variety of responses and experiences of shared experiences, which allows one to “grope” for the only correct solution for everyone. In this article I will dwell in more detail on the work of psychodynamic groups, on group analysis In my opinion, one of the most effective and safe forms of psychotherapy is psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis belongs to the areas of depth (or psychodynamic) psychotherapy, is based on an integrated approach to a person as an individual, is associated with changes in the level of personality functioning (changes in perception , thinking and in the emotional sphere). In the course of interaction with a psychoanalyst, there is a kind of “linking” of parts of a person’s mental reality that are disparate for various reasons, integration, and a feeling of greater integrity and self-worth appears. Part of unconscious materialbecomes conscious and fears and anxieties go away, it becomes clear what previously caused bewilderment and a state of discomfort. Therapy takes place in conditions of trust and confidentiality, in accordance with the individual characteristics of the person and taking into account his life circumstances. The psychoanalytic approach gives the most stable result. The basic rule of psychoanalysis is that a person comes and talks about everything that comes to his mind (method of free associations). A psychoanalytic group is a closed-type conversation group (on average up to 8-10 people), usually of a long, time-limited format. You determine the duration yourself. A psychoanalytic group is a special form of psychodynamic group work, where the centuries-old experience of psychoanalytic therapy, combined with the modern level of knowledge about group processes, provides you with a unique opportunity to both acquire new skills of behavior and interaction with people, and to study deep mental processes underlying our behavior and relationships with people. A psychoanalytic group is a safe and supportive space where you get a rare opportunity to talk about absolutely everything that is most significant to you, for which there is no place or time in everyday life , or a person who could listen, understand and accept. Working in a group in a psychoanalytic manner makes it possible through communication to find the nature of the problem, get to the source and explore its development, which allows not only to interrupt the pathological manifestation, but also contributes to the integration of various parts of the personality (largely previously unconscious). In the process of work, participants learn to express thoughts, talk about their feelings, listen and hear other participants, understand and be understood, defend their position and respect other people’s opinions, cope with difficult feelings (including including manifestations of aggression) and much more, which underlies self-respect and self-acceptance, empathy and healthy relationships. Features of group analysis and some other forms of psychodynamic group therapy Group-analytical approach is a psychodynamic direction of group work, where the main therapeutic factor is the group itself, through verbalization (free discussion) and transformative coexistence of psycho-emotional states. This is not analysis in a group or analysis of a group, but analysis through a group. Therefore, in group analysis, to a lesser extent than in other approaches, there is directiveness on the part of the conductor (leader). During the work of the group, the interaction of its participants, a single space of psychoanalytic interaction is formed - in a situation of stimulating the “response search” reaction, as in early childhood , Ego learning in action. The founder of group analysis, Z. Fawkes, introduced the concept of a group matrix to describe this process, as a hidden, hypothetical network of communications that forms over time in a group and against the background of which everything happens, both with individual members of the group and with the group as a whole. The group as a whole for Fawkes is the built-in relationship of the individual in the group and with the group. He considered individual people from a point within a wider field - the matrix of communication (as figure and background), based on the ideas of psychoanalysis and gestalt. The founder of another approach of psychodynamic group therapy (group analysis) W. Bion considered the main group therapeutic factor - the group as a whole from the point from the point of view of organizational psychology, at the supra-individual level. He viewed the group as a field, as an integrity formed by the potential loss of significance of an individual in group processes. Tatyana Dmitrieva, the founder of synergetic group therapy (also one of the approaches in dynamic group psychotherapy), speaks of group culture as the main concept for describing group dynamics. Group culture is created by the individual interactions of participants, but once created, it itselfbegins to define these interactions. Group culture is formed in the process of the group’s work, and in the future it becomes the main instrument of change for each participant. In psychodynamic group therapy, from the standpoint of whatever approach we consider what can be called the group therapeutic factor - the group as a whole, we always talk about that in a group space something more than just the sum of the individual experiences of the participants is formed. The content of this field or matrix environment is largely unconscious, “plunging” into which individual meanings acquire a different connotation (different emotional and evaluative meaning) and return to the participants in a new quality, allowing unconscious communications to be made conscious, promoting personal integration. How the group works First of all, you should accept that knowledge is an important, but not the main element in therapeutic work; you need to live what worries you in order to find the answer to your question. Initially, participants who are not familiar with each other begin to communicate as they are used to in normal life, some are silent, others talk about their experiences and feelings. In the process of group work, habitual patterns (models) of behavior begin to appear, those difficulties that interfere with effective communication in everyday life. With the help of a group, it is possible to explore the difficulties that have arisen and live in a new way what cannot be done in the family or at work, without fear of destroying or losing existing relationships. This is possible in a group-analytical space - a safe environment of respect, trust and confidentiality. Safety is ensured both by the group therapy specialist, who maintains the space of communication, the integrity of the group, and by the group participants themselves, following a number of group rules. There are several immutable rules that must be followed in order for the atmosphere in the group to be experienced as safe and supportive. For example, the main rule is confidentiality, everything that happens in the group remains in the group, and is not discussed with anyone outside the group. This allows you to feel freedom in expressing feelings and security. The rule of talking about emotionally significant experiences, talking about associations that arise in the situations under discussion, allows you to explore and resolve the conflict that interferes with your life, in communication, and stimulates you to learn to talk about your feelings adequate to the situation. Efficiency depends on the activity of all participants in the process, including the leader. Systematic attendance allows you to experience a feeling of constancy, stability and reliability, makes it possible to quickly achieve the desired result. All rules exist for your comfortable stay in the group. Some rules are formed by the group itself, while others undergo changes and over time cease to be a rule, but rather become a natural form of behavior. When the group discusses the most exciting or disturbing issues for each participant, when they talk about their feelings and experiences, thus, completely special relationships. And, as in life, building relationships requires some time to first discover ineffective patterns of behavior and interaction or intrapsychic (internal) conflicts, find new ways of behavior and consolidate the resulting effect. You need to prepare yourself for the fact that working in a group will take some time. And, perhaps, the last thing I would like to draw attention to when talking about safety and effectiveness is that mental health, like health in general, should be trusted only to qualified specialists. What do you need to become a member of the group To join The group must undergo a preliminary interview with the group leader. During the interview, you will be able to talk about yourself, what you would like to receive from the group and learn how psychoanalytic group therapy works. Typically, interviews require 2-3 meetings. Format of work Within the framework of the psychodynamic approach, how. 183-196.