Grounding in Group Psychotherapy: An Irreplaceable Practice

The most common vehicle for self-understanding, revelation, and change in group psychotherapy is the articulation of internal experience, the practice of putting your thoughts and feelings into words-not necessarily including bodily signals or sensations. The experiential body and its regulatory principles are becoming more popular, but their prioritization is not central in group theory or practice. This article presents a somatic conceptualization of grounding as a practice. Group psychotherapy is in a unique position to serve as social ground for its members and invite somatic tracking and experiencing as well as relational knowing. From a somatic perspective, grounding is a fundamental concept that centers the person in the here-and-now, discharges mental strain, and invites subjective interoceptive awareness forward for processing. Holding and containing functions are embodied experiences, and these, when integrated, deepen interpersonal connections and trauma processing with increased authenticity and realism. Interweaving thoughts and feelings with interpersonal dynamics while grounding the body situates the therapy for wholesome and profound clinical work.