Psychologist Suze Prudent, Ph.D., has been at MIT since November 2000. Recently she took on a new role in MIT Medical's Mental Health Service: Coordinator of Group Therapy.

"I believe group therapy is a powerful medium for personal exploration and personal change," Prudent says. "Groups provide an opportunity for interpersonal learning—feedback from real people in real time."

As group coordinator, Prudent hopes to find new ways to support her colleagues in the Mental Health Service in their group work. She also wants to educate the community about the benefits of group therapy. "So much of our development happens in a group context-the family, the classroom, informal peer groups," Prudent explains. "Yet people usually think of therapy only as speaking to a trained professional, one on one, behind closed doors." Prudent hopes to change this perception by raising awareness of the way group therapy works and how helpful it can be.

Prudent says this task is made more difficult by the way the media has portrayed therapy groups. "For example, The Bob Newhart Show reinforced some of our worst fears about group therapy," Prudent says. "Members of Bob's group always seemed to be going after each other, making group therapy seem like a kind of free-for-all for expressing hostility.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," Prudent emphasizes. "In reality, the group leader assumes the responsibility of ensuring that the group is a safe space where people can talk to each other respectfully and confidentially."

Prudent quickly ticks off other common myths and fears.

"People often hesitate to join a therapy group because they think it means being responsible for other people's mental health," Prudent says. "They may feel burdened by the idea of providing support for other people when they feel in need of help themselves."

Prudent says people often express the concern that they will be overwhelmed by the problems of other people in the group—that if they are depressed, for example, the group will make them even more depressed. "I have never seen this happen," she emphasizes. "Rather, over time, group members begin to see that they are all different in some ways. At the same time, they come to understand that they also share many things in common with others—a realization that lessens the sense of shame and isolation."

Another common fear is that joining a group will put people in a position where they'll have to talk when they don't feel like talking or, as Prudent puts it, that they will have to "confess"—talk about things they are not ready to talk about.

The truth, Prudent says, is that talking isn't always the point of group therapy. "People share when they are ready," she notes. "In the meantime, they often find they can learn a lot from hearing others talk." And, she adds, it is important for people to know that confidentiality is an important part of agreeing to be in a group.

The Mental Health Service currently sponsors 10 groups of six to eight members each. These include groups for graduate students, undergraduates, employees, African American women, and partners of international students or faculty members. Other groups focus on specific issues like weight management, stress, or alcohol. New groups are in development for people dealing with a crisis and for gay men and lesbians. In addition, Prudent maintains a database of other Boston-area groups and can make appropriate referrals.

"Groups decrease isolation," Prudent emphasizes. "They provide a consistent, predictable network of peers, where members know they are safe to bring themselves no matter what else is happening."

In groups, Prudent says, people don't just learn about themselves; they also learn how relationships work. "When you take a risk to reveal something about yourself, it is very powerful to feel accepted by regular people—not just a professional trained to react that way. As a therapist, it is especially moving to observe how quickly people in a therapy group develop this level of caring and respect for each other."

For more information about group therapy or about current groups at MIT Medical or in the greater Boston area, contact the Mental Health Service at 617/ 253-2916. Individuals who are interested in joining a specific group begin by meeting individually with the group leader, allowing the clinician to match a potential member's goal to a particular group.