Raphael Lopez de Soto | Psychotherapist

MENS THERAPY GROUP

Welcome to the Mens Therapy Group page. This mens group is unique and brings together traditional group psychotherapy and the creative action of psychodrama, which enables the physical expression of a diverse range of problems or issues to creatively problem solve. Adult men of all ages and from all backgrounds, cultures and faiths are welcome. Psychodrama is a recognised interactive therapy and is regulated by the United Kingdom Council of Psychotherapists (UKCP). The group is held at Holistic Health Centre Woking, an established psychotherapy centre conveniently located in Woking town centre, just minutes from Woking railway station and town centre car parks.

What is Psychodrama?

Psychodrama is the drama of our lived experience, it is not about performing or fiction such as a script, play or amateur dramatics. Psychodrama means the internal drama or dialogue within us, our relationship with ourselves and with other people. Psychodrama is a particularly helpful therapy method because it allows us to have conversations with our inner dialogue and world, in a creative and spontaneous way. It allows us to explore the past, present and future and how we view our past changes the way we view our future. In telling our stories we get to see and make sense of them, enabling us to reconnect differently. This new perspective can lead to doing things in a different way. Telling and being playful with our stories gives us an opportunity to see and experience our stories come to life in a safe, supportive environment. We can interact with our stories and be in them and during the drama process a familiar pattern, belief or something unexpected could emerge which can bring new awareness.

Raphael Lopez de Soto | Psychotherapist | Mens Therapy Group

Why a mens therapy group?

Men’s emotional and psychological well-being is largely neglected, even though there are higher rates of depression and suicide amongst men. Men express their pain or suffering differently to women. As an experienced therapist I offer a creative approach to men's group psychotherapy, which is rarely available in the community.

Psychodrama offers more than traditional group psychotherapy as we do not only sit and talk about our problems, we use physical action to explore and problem solve. Psychodrama enables the embodiment of men’s experience, which is different to that of women’s, to explore the complexity of being a man. The importance of these differences, together with psychodrama as a creative action method allows group members to be spontaneous. The freedom to be creative and spontaneous and to just say things as they are, without being blamed or shamed, provides an open and safe space in which to look at things.

The way we communicate what it is to be a man, to ourselves and to others is linked to the way we construct our identity. As men, how often do we have conversations and explorations with each other, without these conversations being captured by others who may potentially react negatively?

What happens in a group therapy session?

Group members arrive with problems to solve, feelings of remorse, dreams, hopes or yearnings, decisions to make, past or present traumas, relationship problems or confusion about things yet to be named or understood. Using creative action, group members will make connections with each other and will be able to share as much or as little about themselves as they wish. The themes that then emerge are explored more fully through one or more individual psychodramas, or a whole group psychodrama. Group members will bring to life elements of the presenting themes or issues and take on the roles of each element, such as parts of self, feelings, places, significant people or objects. At the end of the group session there will be time for sharing what it was like being in role and how the drama personally resonated. Again group members can share as much as they feel conformable with, or not at all.

Why group therapy?

Compared to individual one-to-one psychotherapy, group psychotherapy has several advantages;

Observations by other group members are a useful source of feedback offering different and varied perspectives, which can be helpful for personal growth.
Group members model to each other different ways of thinking and doing.
A group is a social environment where we can learn and improve communication skills, social skills and gain insight into how others experience and view us.
Group participation encourages interaction and in turn this can help with self-esteem and confidence building.
Psychodrama and creative action methods are particularly effective when used in a group therapy setting.

Enquiries & how to book

If you are interested in joining the Men's Therapy Group please send me an email from the Contact page