Why I Love Groups

We are, of course, born into groups (e.g., families, communities, cultures) and live out much of our lives within groups (e.g., team sports, families).

I came to appreciate the power of groups while training to become a hospital chaplain in what is called Clinical Pastoral Education, or CPE. My favorite part of the work was facilitating spirituality groups in the psychiatric inpatient units, where we searched together to find hope in what many patients experienced as a bleak situation. Part of the educational process of CPE is a weekly interpersonal process group with peers, and I quickly came to love that part of the experience as well. I found that groups can cover so much personal and interpersonal terrain, fostering a sense of belonging and learning about ourselves and others. Groups can also help us see our “blind spots” of how we relate to others and why we may continue to repeat problematic interpersonal patterns. Groups offer us a chance to try out new ways of relating to others as we come to find that our old ways of relating are not the only ways.

When I began as a grief counselor in a hospice that at that time had no current grief groups, I quickly saw the benefit of creating grief groups that brought grieving people together. I have found, time and time again, a collective power and wisdom in these groups, where participants are encouraged to openly share their experiences of loss and grief. Over time, I created a program of many different types of grief groups that included grief education classes, open ongoing groups, short-term closed groups, loss-specific groups, and creative/expressive arts groups.

Although some types of groups are designed to be more “supportive” (e.g., support groups, peer groups), and some groups have as their goal to instill growth and change (e.g., “process” groups), I find that most groups share much in common. Specifically, when a group creates a space where vulnerability and authenticity are encouraged, participants tend to feel more connection and belonging in the group and more freedom to be or become a more authentic version of themselves.

For these reasons, I love facilitating all kinds of groups, and I intend to offer some groups at Place To Be Counseling in 2026.