CAPS Group Therapy and Support Groups

The skills training group consists of mini lectures followed by class discussions, and requires active participation, including completion of simple homework assignments. Group members must concurrently participate in individual therapy. The group is divided into 4 modules of various lengths.

• Core Mindfulness Skills
• Emotion Regulation Skills
• Distress Tolerance Skills
• Interpersonal Effectiveness

This group will introduce participants to the concept of mindfulness and its benefits and applications through four sessions. Participants will also have the opportunity to share their reactions to and experience of in-group mindfulness activities and their outside-of-group mindfulness practice and reflections. After the first “introduction-to-mindfulness” session, the focus of each group session will be the introduction to and practice of a specific mindfulness strategy, including:

• Body scans
• Walking meditation
• Sitting meditation

There are two primary areas of focus for this group, depending on the needs of the group and the style of group leadership. Personal growth is often addressed with individual group members bringing their concerns to the group for feedback and support. Balancing personal needs with the needs of others is an important aspect of the group. Relationship development is the other dimension of group process and provides firsthand experience with effective communication and emotional intimacy. Group members often address setting boundaries, listening, appropriate disclosure and problem solving. Group members will give and receive feedback about initial impressions, positive and negative patterns of interaction and stages of personal and group growth/development.