Group therapy can be effective when members are able to experience being seen with acceptance and compassion. Being seen in a safe and supportive way can help people express and let go of painful memories and integrate more empowering ways being in the world.
Since most members in the group are working on some personal challenge, the power of the healing that can be experienced exceeds what’s possible through individual therapy alone.
Group therapy experience
Group therapy can be such a powerful experience that it is not uncommon for someone who is having difficulty verbalizing something painful to get a significant therapeutic benefit from listening to others and lending support. This may then open the doorway for them to share more of their own personal experiences. Sometimes people don’t have the words for their personal experience, but they can learn from the group how to put their own experience into words. This can help support clarity in their lives.
Groups honor each member’s uniqueness, as well as celebrate the differences, and through this process members often find that they do not feel as different or alone as they once may have felt. Group members may also be surprised at the similarities. They may see other group members as very different but then discover the similarities between them.
BOLD LOVE Men’s Group Online Workshop July 16, 2020
Explore:
• Your intention and hearts’ desire
• Using the present moment to navigate and explore obstacles to hearts’ desire
• What leads us to connect/disconnect with ourselves and others close to us.
Learn:
• How to connect to your present moment embodied adult state of consciousness
• How to connect more deeply to this state by exploring what gets in the way of connecting with yourself and others.
• How being present in this adult state of consciousness ultimately leads to affirming and activating our authentic self.
Format:
• The group will consist of psycho-educational, and related experiential exercises to deepen each members’ awareness.
• Members will break into smaller groups for exercises and then come back into the larger group to share and potentially process some of what is coming up.
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” Rumi
4-hour Men’s Group online workshop on Thursday 7/16/20 from 5pm to 9:30pm, with a 30- minute break for dinner. The fee for this workshop will be $100 per person. Given the nature of this workshop, the number of people attending will be limited to 10. Contact Ivan Skolnikoff, MFT 510-496-6029 for additional information and a free 20min phone consult.
New BOLD LOVE Men’s Group Online Forming June 25, 2020
Do you want to connect more deeply with others but find it challenging, scary, or disappointing? Do you find it hard to relax and just be yourself? Do you feel confused about what keeps you from having satisfying friendships or relationships?
Please join me for this exploration of men’s issues. My intention is to co-create a safe and inviting space for members who are seeking an ongoing group, but this 9-week group is a place to get connected to other men and opportunities for a longer term group will also be available.
Men in our culture often have fear of intimacy and their emotions. They can have difficulty with empathy when they fear that they may be seen as soft or weak. Vulnerability is actually a sign of strength. By helping men share their concerns and fears, groups can ease members past these barriers. Some men may struggle assert themselves because they don’t want to come off as too strong or too passive. This group can support men in building on the strengths that they already have. Men’s strength can sometimes be seen as scary or aggressive. This group can also help men to find their strength and power and use it in a way to connect as opposed to being overly protective. It takes courage and strength for men to be become and remain vulnerable as they work through challenges in their relationships.
Group therapy and counseling can be useful to break the power of stigma associated with feelings of vulnerability. I believe it’s essential for men to feel comfortable with their masculine identity, and this often means exploring the impact of their relationships with their fathers and brothers.
A long term Men’s group has the capacity to support each member as they go through life changes.
This group is open to men of all ages, ethnicities and sexual orientations; I encourage viewing differences as opportunity to expand each member’s awareness, and create space for the possibility of deeper connection.
Discover:
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- How to be true to yourself and have boundaries
- How to let go of internal obstacles to connection
- How to align your intention with your impact in relationships
Below is an example of some of the topics that will be discussed during this journey exploring:
• Your intention and hearts’ desire
• Using the present moment to navigate to explore obstacles to hearts desire
• What leads us to connect/disconnect with ourselves and others close to us
• How running from ourselves gets in the way of working through emotions and understanding ourselves
• What gets in the way of experiencing more agency in our lives
• Obstacles to setting clear boundaries
• How embodied cognition supports embodied curiosity
• How the natural role of the body connects us to presence
• How shame and guilt make sense viewed through the lens of child consciousness
Every member will have an opportunity to name and clarify their intention, hearts desire, for becoming part of a Men’s group, and how this is currently relevant in their life. Being able to clearly name our hearts desire can have an internally organizing affect. Then we will explore what gets in the way of getting the hearts desire met.
What usually gets in the way of our hearts desire, being ourselves, and who we want to be in the world, are adaptive survival based strategies we learned growing up. Initially these adaptive strategies helped us to comfort ourselves, feel more connected or safe. People often assume the strategies are part of their personality. In fact they can get in the way of being our full selves.
This group will create space for each member to engage in an inquiry process with the opportunity to take a deep dive into their subjective experience. This type of inquiry can support each member by providing a space for deep listening through embodied curiosity. Engaging in deep listening with embodied curiosity can potentially expand each members capacity to listen more deeply to themselves leading to increased feelings of connection with themselves and those around them. By learning to face more directly what gets in the way of the hearts desire, members can learn to become more resilient. With this increased resilience, they may notice an increased capacity to remain present with their internal experience, as they navigate life’s obstacles.
Anais Nin- “We don’t see things the way they are. We see them as we are.”
Ivan Skolnikoff, MFT (Lic. #MFC35832) is an experienced therapist and group facilitator who has worked with adults, couples, and adolescents in a variety of settings for over 20 years. He combines various approaches including Neuro-Affective Relational Model, Hakomi Mindfulness-Based Experiential Psychotherapy, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. He specializes in areas including: relationship issues, anxiety and depression, shame, attachment issues, trauma, chronic illness, family dysfunction, addictions, career issues and self-empowerment issues.
Logistics: Logistics Start Date: Thursday 6/25/20 5:00- 6:30pm. Fee was $85.00/week now reduced to $50/week during this Corona Virus period. 9-week initial commitment. For more info, please contact Ivan at 510-496-6029 for a free phone consultation.This group will currently be offered over zoom.