An on site stress workshop for teachers: The creation of a therapeutic group environment

This paper describes an ongoing stress workshop conducted for 5 years in an elementary school. The school was located in an economically deprived area in the Bronx, New York. Similarities and differences between on-site workshops and therapy groups are discussed. The developmental stages of the group and its corresponding issues are analyzed in terms of group process, transference, and resistance. Illustrative vignettes are presented. The positive effects of group dynamic and group therapy interventions on the participating group as well as on nongroup personnel is demonstrated. Suggestions for adapting group therapy methods in school settings are also presented.This paper was presented as a poster at the Annual Conference of the American Group Psychotherapy Association held in Atlanta, Georgia, February 1995.