GROUP THERAPY: CHAPTERS SUMMARIES 3
Therapist: Transference and Transparency Here, we focus on what the role of the therapist
is in the group and how the therapist ought to be included in the activities of the group. The role
of transference-imparted attitudes from the therapist to the client is important in the
determination of the recovery journey of the client. There is, however, no consensus among
psychoanalysts on the degree of disclosure that therapist ought to offer their clients (Yalom &
Leszcz, 2010, p. 203). This ranges from extensive to complete opaqueness in disclosure on the
side of the therapist. Nonetheless, transference has a central role in the analytic treatment in
therapy. All the other group therapeutic factors must be in place for transference in a therapy
group formation to be effective. For an intense transference experience in the group, the therapist
has to emphasize on the peer-to-peer experience rather than taking a central role in the group
therapy. The therapist must at all times dispel the transference distortions that make his clients
attach unreal, super-human character to the therapist. To achieve this, consensual validation and
enhanced therapist transparency can be adopted (Yalom & Leszcz, 2010, p. 214). Consensual
validation requires that the therapist continually encourage the members of the group to validate
their experiences of the therapist against that of the other members. Also, by revealing more
about oneself, the therapist can help the clients to confirm or dismiss the impressions they have
of the therapist. Moreover, by disclosing the impacts that the clients have had on the therapist, it
may improve their morale and the group experience too. This way, one is likely to obtain crucial
feedback that can be used in the improvement of the treatment. It should, nonetheless, be noted
that overzealous obeisance to transparency may be detrimental to the group maintenance
function of the therapist. It has to be moderate as not to ignore other important requirements of
the therapist in strengthening the group.
