This is the translation in English of the previous post, on our new group psychotherapy endeavor. We aim to target this group to the diverse anglophone citizens and digital nomads dwelling in Athens, this lively, multicultural crowd, which may need to participate in a group therapeutic setting
For October 2023 we are pursuing to start a self-awareness and psychotherapy group for today’s modern relationships and diverse sexualities.
Usually, such groups are (self) presented with a typical, scientific-like description, but this was something that had brought us, for a while, to a dead end. It was only when we recognized this impasse and began to think about its origin, that we managed to take some distance of it.
Let’s consider three current cases:
A cis-straight man, mid-50s, therapist, recently divorced, wonders aloud, “Do relationships end after 50y.o.? What expectations arise from the constant comparison and friction of bodies, opinions, moods, relationships through social media? To what extent and to what degree do we allow ourselves to be exposed? What will a younger colleague comment from her position? Perhaps: "Masculinity has mutated, men's demands from relationships alter with age, but also dating and meeting places have changed. This implies greater exposure of our vulnerability and weaknesses on the one hand, but also greater acceptance of freedom and the possibility of play, experimentation, exploration on the other hand".
Two women, around 40y.o., in an exclusive same-sex relationship, had two children almost simultaneously through insemination with a donor friend. What concessions must they make to manage close relationships in the families they choose? Does the way, the four of them communicate with each other, change in social settings and situations? What type of boundaries do they find useful? What kind of answers do they give to children's questions about concepts such as love, sexuality, family? In what way / ways do they encourage them to relate to the significant others and non-others in their lives? How would a queer 20y.o. boy, struggling to come out to his heteronormative family, but also the travails of adulthood, feel if he listened to them? Hope for their courage to build the family they dreamed of?
Two friends, heterosexual women in their 30s, worry about their place in the Athens relationship scene: "How do we manage sexual relationships, consensually, in a sex-positive and mutually satisfying way? How do we communicate, in the age of digital fatigue? How do we love in times of cold intimacy and what love really means? What would a polygamous person's response be? The forthcoming of radical honesty, respect and mutual care?
In group meetings we use the group as a “platform” to meet, understand ourselves and others, and discern our expectations and feelings, in a safe and inclusive space. The aim of the group is to encourage its members to “trust” themselves and others, to accept their possible difficulties, to have their voices heard but also to hear their own voice in front of others, as well as to actively listen to the rest group members.
- The group will launch in early October 2023.
- The meeting will take place every Wednesday 19:30-21:00 (once a week for 90′) live at the office (Argyroupoleos 14, 11471, Lykavittos), but also by hybrid means.
- The cost of participation is set at 25 euros/session.
- If you wish to join the group, please contact us by email (giorgos.kesisoglou@gmail.com, olkatrin@gmail.com) to arrange a first individual meeting.
The Coordinators – Systemic Psychotherapists
Giorgos Kesisoglou & Katerina Olka