An Up-close Look at Group Therapy
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There was an article in the New York Times recently about Reese Witherspoon’s book club which began in 2017. It said, “she [chooses] books by women, with women at the center of the action who save themselves.” When I looked over the complete list of chosen books, I found many that I had read and enjoyed. I also learned about Group. It was the book club pick in November, 2020. Liking other books from Reese’s club, I decided to give this one a try.
While most of the book club books are fiction, this one is a memoir. The subtitle of the book is How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life, and indeed, it’s about a woman and her experience in group therapy.
It should be noted that this particular group therapy is unusual in various ways. It is run by Dr. Jonathan Rosen. He believes that the only way for people to get unstuck from their shame-based personal histories, is for them to tell all their secrets in great detail to the group. So, radical honesty is the first rule of this group. Second, there is no confidentiality at all in the group. Any of the group members can talk about the others outside of the group. And third, the therapy is NOT short term. The author has spent two decades with Dr. Rosen. At one time she was a member of two of his groups and attended meetings three times a week.
I should state that I am unsure if Jonathan Rosen is the doctor’s real name. In the acknowledgment section Tate mentions group-therapy innovator, Irvin Yalom. So I wonder, does Rosen equal Yalom, or does Rosen just follow closely in Yalom’s footsteps?
Whatever the case, Christie Tate has a lot to process in her therapy. There is the drowning death of her friend’s father, which she witnessed at age thirteen. There is the molestation she endured later in her teen years. There is her bulimia and the eight years she has spent in a 12-step program. And there are all of her failed attempts at finding a romantic relationship.
As Christie Tate looks for a cure, Dr. Rosen tells her, “You don’t need a cure. You need a witness.”
The group becomes her witness, as does the reader.
As odd as Dr. Rosen’s methodology might be, it seemed to work a lot better than the game plan expressed by Christie Tate’s mom (and actually by my mom too): “You just make up your mind to be happy. Focus on the positive; don’t put any energy into negative thoughts.”
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Click here to learn more about Group on Amazon.
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Here are all the Reese Witherspoon book club books I have read. If I wrote a review, you will find a link to it.
All of these books were terrific, including this newest one.
- The Most Fun We Ever Had
- Tom Lake
- Romantic Comedy
- The Nightingale
- Tiny Beautiful Things
- Our Missing Hearts
- True Biz
- The Last Thing He Told Me
- Such a Fun Age
- Daisy Jones & The Six
- The Library Book
- This Is How it Always Is
- Where the Crawdads Sing
- This is the Story of a Happy Marriage
- Little Fires Everywhere
- Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
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