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FIND YOUR WAY HOME 
GROUP THERAPY

Interpersonal Process Therapy Groups

Therapeutic communities for improving mental health & relationships,
healing attachment, relational & cultural trauma,
and creating lives of greater
 belonging, meaning, liberation & love

Welcome
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Welcome.
Let's Begin...

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Erica Gardner-Schuster, PhD (she/her)
Licensed Clinical Psychologist & Group Therapist
Director, Find Your Way Home Group Therapy Services

New York City, Land of the Lenape

Welcome.

You are taking an important step toward a more meaningful life. It takes courage to begin a new chapter of healing and growth. I'm honored you’re considering my companionship on your therapeutic journey.

 

You’re here because you want more from your life. You want to transcend old wounds and trauma, and transform your existence into one of greater peace, passion and play. You want to navigate life choices and stressors with more psychological and spiritual resilience. You want to discover your unique gifts, your purpose.

 

You’re here because you want to know yourself. You want to understand how your identity and life experiences have shaped who you have become. You want to break free from oppressive societal pressures and embrace who you are with unconditional love and radical acceptance. You want to understand how your interpersonal patterns and unconscious defenses limit you, holding you back from the intimacy you seek.

 

You’re here because you desire deeper, more authentic connections with others. You want a community, a family of your choosing, with whom to share life’s joys and pains. You want honest relationships with people who accept you for who you are. You want to be seen, known and respected, so as to feel less lonely and more loved.

 

Welcome to this next part of your journey. You don’t have to do this alone. We’ll be with you. Group psychotherapy will provide you a therapeutic community of fellow travelers to accompany you as you create the life you want to be living.

 

Find Your Way Home

 

home 

[hom] • noun 

A place or feeling of belonging.

The ache for home lives in all of us.
~Maya Angelou

In Group, you’ll come to feel more at home in yourself and in the world. You will free your authentic voice from the silencing effects of others' expectations. As you experience validation and compassion from your peers, you will realize that you are enough. You’ll become more empowered as you engage in interpersonal spaces with more confidence and a greater sense of agency and belonging.

 

Group will help you form more honest, secure relationships with your fellow group members. As you share your views, wants and needs in group, you’ll feel heard. You’ll develop new relational templates for romantic partnerships, friendships, family, parenting, work teams, and societal roles – all to foster more fulfilling relationships.

 

You will discover what home means to you. You’ll appreciate what it’s like to have a secure base you can count on, from which to negotiate life, and to which you can return for support when things get hard. You will learn to listen to your own heart in order to find your way home.

Let’s Begin…

Are you ready to realize your vision for who you want to be, and how you want to live?

 

If so, I look forward to connecting with you.

Why Group?

Human beings have always gathered around the campfire for warmth, light and community.

 

Travelers after the long day's journey would pause fireside to rest and nourish their spirits, contemplating where to go next. Tribes would come together to celebrate victories, honor transitions, mourn losses, and make decisions for their families. Spiritual seekers would look into the flames for meaning and wisdom. Artists and musicians would create song and dance by firelight.

 

People would gather around the campfire to tell stories, to make sense of the world and the past, to share emotions, and to learn from one another's experiences. And, from time to time, they would look up at the stars above to guide them as they let their hearts speak freely together.

Group psychotherapy builds upon this traditional communal activity of gathering around the fire to seek connection, healing & inspiration.

What is Group Therapy?

 

Group psychotherapy (also known as group therapy) is a highly effective, evidence-based therapeutic intervention. Scientific research has demonstrated that group therapy results in significant improvements in mental health and interpersonal functioning. In group, a small number of people come together under the guidance of a mental health professional to help themselves and each other heal and grow.

 

Group is a supportive, empowering space where members can find the safety and courage to explore interpersonal and identity issues, overcome obstacles to intimacy and belonging, and create a new template for more fulfilling relationships. Group therapy led by specialized professionals has the potential to change lives. 

 

Group can offer a powerful complement to previous or ongoing individual therapy by providing an interpersonal space for people to accelerate intrapsychic therapeutic development. Group can lead to profound, lasting benefits when led by a skilled clinician with specialized training and expertise in interpersonal process.

About My Groups

 

For optimal therapeutic benefit, I integrate the best of various evidence-based approaches and theoretical orientations into my work, including psychodynamic, relational, liberation psychology, somatic/body-focused, gestalt, existential, Jungian, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Our groups are all informed by attachment, trauma and social justice theories (including critical race, queer and feminist theories). Groups are based in neuroscience and developmental and clinical psychology research, best practices, and participant-driven, collaborative models of community engagement.

 

My groups humbly draw upon both indigenous wisdom and the latest thinking in anti-oppressive, anti-racist frameworks. Group members work to overcome the harmful impact of systemic societal forces, including white supremacy, cisheteronormativity, and patriarchy, on all of our emotional and spiritual well-being, and on all of our relationships. Members discover more liberation and empowerment as they explore issues of social location and identity and come together to create a space to dismantle oppressive forces. Groups focus on overcoming dehumanizing hate and bias, and imagining a new way of being in connection with our full humanity and the full humanity of others. Led by a long time New Yorker, my therapy groups also help members navigate the unique challenges of living in New York City and New York State.  I also offer online interpersonal process groups & Women's Groups open to individuals anywhere with sliding scale fees.

Group Therapy Benefits

My groups provide a supportive therapeutic community and an interpersonal laboratory to practice new relational skills and learn more about yourself,  your relational templates, and what holds you back from a more fulfilled life. In your free consultation, ask us about potential benefits of group therapy for you, including:

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Therapeutic Community of Fellow Travelers

finding belonging & companionship on your therapy journey

Connecting, Relating & Relationship Building

leaning into human contact & finding more fulfilling relationships

 

Support, Motivation & Accountability

using Group to help you change & grow

Secure Attachment & Mentalization

developing more secure & attuned relationships

Liberation, Empowerment, & Self-Esteem

overcoming obstacles to believing in yourself

Honesty, Validation & Emotional Freedom

embracing, affirming & voicing your true needs & feelings

Interpersonal Learning & Feedback

learning how you impact others, and how others impact you

Self-Awareness, Insight & Vision

understanding where you are, imagining where you want to go

Relational Mindfulness Practice

being more fully present in the "here & now" of relationships

Love, Compassion & Acceptance

opening your heart, toward yourself & others

How can I join a group?

 

Reach out to schedule a free consultation for our online groups for New York residents. We’ll discuss which group might be the best fit, and schedule an initial teletherapy session to discuss your group journey in more depth. To get a head start:on the intake process, complete the below GROUP MATCHMAKER: FIND YOUR GROUP survey to start shaping your personalized group therapy experience. 

Ask about my Therapy Groups

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Ask about my Clinical Specialties

Ask about my Theoretical Orientations

Ask about Professions I Serve

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Ask about New York In & Out of Network Insurance coverage &
sliding scale fees

(Accepted New York In Network plans: UnitedHealthcare (UHC), Oxford, Harvard Pilgrim, UMR, Optum, Aetna, Oscar Healthcare)

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