We need each other to heal our lives and our world. One-on-one therapy has a place, but it’s possible it has “displaced” the role of community. The power of group was found by those healing addictions – the solution was Alcoholics Anonymous – group recovery models. Why haven’t group recovery models been considered in the mental health arena? There is so much emphasis on confidentiality, which may have originated in deep fears of institutionalization for mental illness. Our society is moving beyond stigmatizing mental illness. We need a model that creates more open dialogue among those who are healing emotionally.
Support groups have been a culture unto themselves since Bill W. started the first AA meetings seventy years ago. Community-based healing is done in rehabs, in workshops, and in forums like Landmark. It was a marker of the millennium to find commonality and step out of our closets of shame. We commonly post our mistakes and make fools of ourselves on social media.
Go to your local gym and you will see the power of bringing people together for self-improvement. If done with the right intentions, emotional self-improvement could create connection and allow for magnification of results. We accomplish more together than we do alone.
Community is powerful in the emotional healing journey. Here are eight considerations based on the “gym model” and other group-support concepts:
- Many of us have found exercise to be more enjoyable when we are in a group
- We have better personal results when we have a trainer or a coach
- It is more enjoyable and supportive to “work out” our emotions with the support of others
- Accountability is a key to progressing and pushing through the tough spots
- Knowing others are doing similar work with similar challenges can make us feel less alone in the process
- It’s nice to have others to celebrate our milestones
- It’s nice to have others to hear us when we are struggling
- We make personal shifts when we support others and get outside of our own stuff
Eight is a powerful number. In fact, let me tell you about The Power of Eight. Lynne McTaggart, also the author of The Field, explains that we are all connected through a quantum energy field. As a result, the power of combined intention can result in dramatic, miraculous shifts. She has conducted experiments with groups of individuals (approximately eight per group) reporting thousands of miraculous healings.
I’m a personal believer in group healing. I’ve established a group model of personal transformation called Liberation Training. We keep our groups small, only 4-6 participants. This allows for a sense of privacy in addition to connection and support. Along with the 7-hour, in-person training, is a 30-day membership in group support.
It’s my hope that we will see change over the next few years that will not only relieve the burden on the mental health system, but see even better results by healing in small groups.
Would you like to be part of a Conscious Community? Join my Mighty Network for free at www.AMillionAtOne.com