The Use of Self-Disclosure in Group Therapy: Engaging Social Enactments in Modern Group Treatment

This paper was originally a panel discussion at the Annual American Group Psychotherapy Association 2025 Conference. Working with enactments of social oppression in groups presents special challenges for group leaders trained to work exclusively within a developmental model. When the group attends to issues of social power, the leader can be seen not only as a transferential figure but also as a representative of an oppressive social class. This shift from developmental to social transference often stimulates anxiety in the group leader, who then struggles with this charged transference. This article describes the author's personal journey to identify how implicit bias enabled her to work with the tension that arises as identity differences and social power become the focus of the group. Case examples illustrate how rigorous self-reflection and study enabled the group leader to use self-disclosure to highlight and resolve difficult social enactments.