An exchange group is a group of people who gather regularly with a therapist giving a subject and everyone in the group talks in turn about how the subject rings for him/her.
The group rules are unjudging listening and free speech. All can be said and violent acting-outs as well as sex intercourse between clients and therapist is prohibited and I enforce these rules.
Speaking is valuable as to dare say allows the person to experiment to others what he/she feels & thinks and the words are kindly welcome. This doesn’t mean to agree but this allows the person to communicate on who the speaking person is.
When I speak about my sufferings I am no longer in my sufferings. And when I listen to others speaking about their experiences I am not alone any more, I feel connected. Words are addressed to oneself and to others.
Sometimes a relaxation or a dream awake starts the group session and creates a buffer between day work and self-centering.
- The exchange group is 8 people max and last 3 hours, generally in the evening.