Adolescent Group Psychotherapy 101- The Basics
$180* | 6 CEUs and/or Act 48 credits Hybrid
$180* | 6 CEUs and/or Act 48 credits Hybrid
Adolescent Group Psychotherapy is a two part hybrid series. The first 4-hour session meets in person and the second, online session builds on concepts introduced in the first, and focuses on conducting online therapy groups for adolescents.
Date: Friday, October 9, 2026
Time: 9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Delivery: In Person
Date: Friday, October 30, 2026
Time: 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Delivery: Synchronous Virtual Classroom via Zoom
Program Cost: $180* (see below for discount rate) | CEUs and/or Act 48: 6
In Person Session: Starting a Group, Group Dynamics and Group Process
In light of the highly publicized mental health crisis with American youth, and the decline of formal group treatment courses in graduate programs, Adolescent Group Psychotherapy is designed to provide a four hour training in the fundamentals of working successfully with adolescents in process focused interpersonal psychotherapy groups in a range of settings.
The workshop will discuss:
It is a core belief that most interpersonal psychotherapy groups with teenage youth are stronger and more dynamic when they have a diverse population.
- Focus on planning, recruitment, membership considerations
- Pre- preparation of clients and their parents
- The group contract
- Group Dynamics and Group Process
- Stages of group development in adolescent groups
- Leadership principles
- Transference and countertransference and use of self,
- Issues around diversity; conflict and group rupture and repair;
The workshop will include a Demonstration Group comprised of some of the participants, followed by a discussion.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of the in person workshop, participants will be able to:
- Identify three features of group treatment that make it an essential treatment modality for working with contemporary adolescents.
- Demonstrate sensitivity to adolescent cultures especially as it relates to the formation and development of group and the group process.
- Discuss the impact of transference and countertransference on the adolescent group.
- Identify how diversity and issues around inclusion color the life of the adolescent both within and outside of the group.
- Cite three core intervention techniques in establishing and maintaining a growth climate in groups with youth.
Online Session: Group Therapy with Adolescents- A Road Map
One of the most important shifts in the delivery of mental health services to youth has been the advent of telehealth mental health services available to adolescents since the early 2000’s. And while precise figures are not fully known, multiple studies since 2022 confirm that online therapy has become a significant and widely used option for many teens and their parents seeking mental healthcare since the pandemic. This development has had a profound impact on group therapy with adolescents.
While there is an expanding body of literature around conducting therapy groups online, most of it centers around working with adults. Based on a book chapter of the same title by the presenter, part of the soon-to-be published Adolescent Group Psychotherapy-Chaos, Wonder and the Basics (Routledge Press), this workshop will be organized around current best practices in conducting therapy groups online and how they apply to working with adolescents in groups, as well as modifications that the presenter has found helpful in his own work. There will be an experiential component to this workshop.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of the online workshop, participants will be able to:
- Identify three features of online group treatment that offer advantages and benefits over face-to-face in-office groups with youth.
- Discuss several aspects of online group therapy that can be impediments to the group process and the interventions that help reduce these impediments.
- Cite different online games genres and specific games currently being used in online therapy groups with youth.
- List three best practices from face-to-face groups (Session 1 in this series) that need to be continued in online groups in order to maximize their success.
Instructor
Thomas K. Hurster MSS LCSW CGP AGPA-F is an Adjunct Professor of Clinical Social Work at the Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research since 2002. He is the co-chair of the Child and Adolescent Special Interest Group, American Group Psychotherapy Association from 2010-2025.
In 2025, he received the Harold S. Bernard Group Psychotherapy Training Award for Outstanding Contributions in Education and Training in the Field of Group Psychotherapy, International Board for Certification of Group Psychotherapists
Cost | CEUs
Program Cost: $180
Discount Rate: $150 for BMC alumnae/i, faculty, staff, field instructors of current GSSWSR MSS students, current MSS students, and agency-funded groups of 3 or more*
CEUs and/or Act 48: 6