The junior-senior team

Abstract

This paper will focus on the nature and feasibility of junior-senior cotherapy teams. The opinions expressed are not based upon formal research or upon a comprehensive literature review, but rather upon the experience of the author developed during 25 years of conducting, supervising, and consulting with a variety of psychotherapy and psychoeducational groups. From these experiences, a point of view about cotherapy has been developed, including the nature of cotherapy pairings and, specifically, the relationship of junior and senior cotherapists. This paper will discuss many of the factors that affect the operation of this type of cotherapy team while it is working together conducting a psychotherapy group. Through consideration of case examples and an illustration of the elements involved in this type of cotherapy relationship, the author will suggest how these teams can be truly effective therapeutic partnerships.To start, a brief example of junior-senior educational relationships will be presented. Though not specifically about a cotherapy relationship, the example provides an illustration of the power inherent in unequal relationships, which is the main feature of junior-senior teams. In a first session of a group training program, someone asked the renowned leader what he thought about cotherapy. He gave a reasoned response that cotherapy was complicated because of the relationship issues between therapists and that sometimes it interfered with the group process. He thought that when one was learning to do group therapy, it was probably wiser not to add the complications of cotherapy. This was heard as "cotherapy is bad"! Because of the power of transference, it took 10 years for the author to overcome this edict and to begin to explore and value the vicissitudes and rewards of the cotherapy relationship. BASIC ASSUMPTIONSUnderlying any discussion of cotherapy are certain basic assumptions. They are: 1) Cotherapy can be helpful, and it can be useful. 2) Cotherapy is a relationship, and like all relationships it has stages of development and is a fluid and changing entity. The relationship is a process and is not static. For an outstanding discussion of the phases of cotherapy development, see Dugo and Beck (1991). 3) Transferences and countertransferences exist in groups. They are a naturally occurring element of group dynamics and also always occur with a