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How does it work? Illustrative videos
The context
T he question that comes up most often is: “Is it really possible to pull through?”. Yes, if you look closely at how you are hiding behind a mask even if you aren’t aware of it. Thanks to the feelings that emerge in the group, people learn how to truly express themselves and stop being phony.
The next question is: “Can you tell me how the group works?”. And here, I respond that I can’t. Each group is an adventure and no one can know in advance how it will turn out. There’s no map. The only guidelines are:
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Authentic emotion as a guide
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- Don’t talk about eating behaviors,
- Avoid talking about the past, your parents, etc.
- Don’t try to say only interesting things,
- Instead of talking about what you think, talk about how you feel, even if you think it sounds stupid,
- Be quiet if you don’t especially feel like talking,
- Speak up when you have something to say, despite fear of what others may think.
The tools
T o get to the core of their identities, the participants’ emotional interactions are closely examined. When they laugh, when they cry, when they lower their eyes, when they feel angry, when they are moved by someone, they become aware of their emotions and practice expressing them. Maybe just to someone in the group who provoked a feeling, maybe in the form of role-playing in order to see the tendencies and behaviors from which they are unable to escape. Authentic emotion, in the moment, says more than any story that can be told rationally.
Testimony
F or people who lack self-affirmation and have a more reserved temperament, the first tool is the group. They don’t find anything in particular to say, they feel empty, but they are greatly affected by what happens in the group without necessarily forcing their more contemplative natures.
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Group therapy is effective for those who are not very talkative, those who are naturally more reserved or those who have a hard time speaking....
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Following group therapy, she no longer suffer from anxiety attacks, she no longer judges herself nor others.
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Before group therapy she came to see Catherine Hervais for a private consultation. Her initial reaction was that of shock.
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F or people who have a lot of anger for themselves, the world, and those close to them, they learn, through experience in a variety of situations, to express what they feel without hurting someone in the process. In this role-playing game, for example, which was filmed for a televised news report, the young woman doesn’t dare tell her father that he is too protective. She keeps quiet because she is afraid of being too violent with him. Objectively, she knows that he is not responsible for the distress he causes his daughter, but she can no longer stand how he treats her. In the course of role-playing, she will discover that he actually has good reason to be worried. He doesn’t know how to approach her.
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T here are also people for whom violence is an extreme problem. Many don’t recognize it in themselves, but they are like ships at drift in a storm and have, in addition to medical help, the need for humanity to find their own humanity.
This is the case for Flore, who resembles self-destructive adolescents.
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F lore was rebellious in her first group. Even during her preliminary consultation she found me “spaced out”.
But she knew she was smart and didn’t want to let go of her convictions. In this video, she explains the extent to which the emptiness can be painful.
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In group therapy I did an enormous amount of work on my personality and my relationships with others.
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T he second to last testimony belongs to Laura because she touched me with her intelligence and her inner (and outer) beauty (she’s like a young, brunette Brigitte Bardot). She initially came for one or two groups because she was leaving to get married in New York. In the end, she realized that it was in her interest to attend the maximum number of groups, which she was able to do when her departure was delayed. She even returned from New York to continue attending the group sessions. Full of aggression, speaking frankly with no boundaries, she slowly learned to channel her intelligence into creativity. She started to live her dream life according to her own values. |
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A nd lastly, Elisabeth’s amazing testimony, which shows that feeling good in your own skin has positive effects on your environment. But it’s not magic. The process yielded huge results for her love life because she was willing to put in a real effort to accept her boyfriend as he was and not compromise herself for him. You be the judge. |
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