By definition, the mandated group member is in treatment under duress. More often than not, they don’t want to be there in the first place but are doing it to avoid jail. As a consequence, the only thing they want is a ‘report card’. I tell mandated members that I will report their group attendance to the court but nothing else. All group interactions are confidential. Even with this disclaimer, most mandated members don’t talk, at least initially; and when they do speak, they avoid sharing the story of their life. Why should they? Some don’t believe that everything in group is really confidential and they tell the group so. I join this resistance and tell them that they are correct. “Don’t tell us everything”, I say. “In fact, it would be crazy for you do so”. This was particularly apparent to me when I led groups in prisons in New York State where ‘looping’ often occurred. (SEE, Pepper, 2014). If and when they feel safe enough to tell the group why they are in group treatment, I applaud their honesty but tell them that their treatment will begin when and if THEY choose to be here. As the date of their ‘sentence’ ends, I employ a prognostic intervention and ask: “So, how many more sessions do you have left before you leave the group?” I continue to ask this question until they actually leave. It’s a way to take back some control over a premature termination but it also gives the mandated member an opportunity to talk about their ambivalence about leaving. By the time that some mandated members leave, they have developed a positive emotional attachment to the group. They admit that before entering group therapy, they had no idea what to expect. One such member said that he thought the group be either like Nurse Ratched from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” or the TV sitcom “Anger Management”. He said that he would never have guessed that he’d feel helped by the experience.
My approach with the mandated group member is to bridge emotional contact between them and the group. I’ll say to a mandated member: ” What feeling is Sonny putting in action when he shakes his foot?” Or I’ll ask Harry, who’s talking about his marital problems: ” How do you think Robert (who was mandated for domestic violence) feels about this topic?” In my experience, all mandated group members have left when they no longer have to attend. I choose to be believe that even though they had to be in treatment, most learn something about themselves during their time in group:” You can have a feeling toward someone without necessarily acting on it”. This is indeed a valuable life lesson for everyone.
