Through the Looking Glass: The Facilitation of Mirroring in Group Process

Abstract

The mirror is often used as a metaphor in the therapeutic literature to explain how we see and experience ourselves through others. An examination of therapeutic mirrors, real and figurative, precedes a discussion of mirroring in group process. The reflections of self encountered by a group member in the group as a whole, in a fellow group member, or in the group leader have an impact upon group process. Undisclosed or unrecognized in group members or the group leader, mirroring can lead to discomfort, peripheral or “narrative” sharing, resistance, and the inability of one or more group participants to profit from the group experience. How group leaders can become aware of mirroring and the techniques that they can use to bring it to light as part of the healing process will be the focus of the discussion.

Keywords:

• group
• group leader
• looking glass
• mirroring
• narrative sharing

Notes

The term parataxic distortions was first used by Sullivan (1953) to refer to cognitive errors that we make about other persons that are based on our own, often unconscious, feelings about past encounters and experiences. It is related to the term transference first used by Freud (1914) to describe the transfer to the analyst by the patient of repressed or forgotten emotions that must be worked through during the course of psychoanalysis. Yalom is not being redundant in using both terms; in group process, transference might be said to affect the relationship between the therapist and a group member or the group as a whole, while parataxic distortions may affect relationships between and among the group members.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lane Gormley

Lane Gormley is a counselor and psychotherapist in Atlanta, GA.