So the special interest group is designed primarily for therapists that want to get more skills in how to work with people with disabilities, chronic conditions, health problems, and illness, and health. So it incorporates mindfulness and relaxation techniques and things like that. So we're trying to expand out as the research is showing that group is so effective for a wide variety of patients with different kinds of medical conditions. The main reason that groups are beneficial to people with chronic conditions is that the main side effect of any kind of chronic condition, whether it's visible or hidden, is isolation.
And another side effect is depression. So people tend to get isolated. Their friends and family don't understand, especially if their illness is invisible and their situation has changed.
They can't play catch with their son anymore. They can't go out to dinner with their friends. Life changes for people. So they get more and more isolated. And in being in a group, people that feel they don't have much to offer can see that they have a lot to offer, get benefit from supporting other people and being supported by others.
So what we do is we train therapists in how to work with people with chronic conditions. And one out of three Americans have a chronic condition. I think the number is 155 million Americans have chronic medical conditions. So this is a major health problem in the United States.
I think of America as being a nation in pain. And with the way... I see this in my practice and when I do the teaching all over the country and in my writing, people really find that it's helpful to have language and to have other people that have similar situations that they can identify with and be able to talk about things that their family and friends really don't get and sometimes their doctors don't get.
And sometimes doctors want a place to be able to send people. So the question that people ask about group therapy often is, you know, what is group therapy? And, you know, is it just a bunch of people sitting around and complaining? But bottom line, what people get out of a group is they come into a group, usually in the most traditional group, for an hour and a half to two hours once a week in the therapist's private office, like in my office, I'm in private practice. And they find that with meeting and talking to other people, that's very helpful.
There is such an enormous range of groups. In chronic illness groups, there may be diabetes groups that are called psychoeducational, so it could be a two-hour workshop, say. maybe once a month, where they have an outside doctor come in, or in some clinics, and we'll be seeing this more and more with the Affordable Care Act, in clinics we'll be seeing diabetes groups that are led by professionals who don't have the illness necessarily, and who teach people coping skills, as well as relaxation along with how to eat properly to keep your diabetes under control. And then they have a section that combines support and sharing of how to talk to your family about it when they're...
pushing sugar on you and saying, you know, I don't understand why you're not having a drink with us or this or that. You get support around the common challenges. One of the best ways for physicians and the public to find out more about different types of groups, including chronic conditions, is the American Group Psychotherapy Association.
There are a number of us throughout the country that work with exclusively or have a specialty in working with chronic medical conditions. And often people ask me, how do you know what kind of group is best to recommend somebody to? And the short answer is usually when you tell people the different kinds of groups that there are, they'll say, I want that.
If you really feel you want a professional who's trained to work with somebody that has those conditions, that's the kind of thing that the American Group Psychotherapy Association members have. Many of us have chronic conditions, like I have arthritis that's not particularly visible at this point, and some people want to work with me because of that. And some people want to work with me and other therapists because we specialize in understanding the complexities of having trauma and isolation and identity loss and all of the things that are side effects of having a chronic condition.
When people have illness, they often are absent, and so they can't consistently attend sometimes with groups. What I've seen in my practice is that it's really important for people to have a backup system. So that's important for doctors to have a backup system, for therapists to have a backup system, and for patients to have a backup system. So when they go into a doctor's office, we want them to have a list of questions.
So these are the kinds of things that people get. They share information about how to do that. A lot of people will come into a group for people with chronic illness, and they will say, you know, I'm really scared of seeing the doctor or they're not used to asking the doctor questions.
And we will often encourage them, you know, write out. a list of questions, have a copy of it, hand it to the doctor when you walk in, tell the doctor, these are the things I really need some help with or I want to report about, and have a buddy come with you. We have seen in the past 10 years an explosion of research and wonderful news about the power of group psychotherapy.
From breast cancer to prostate cancer, doing group work with patients that have cancer gives added years to their life in addition to... quality of life improvement. So what we do is it's the power of group, it's the antidote for isolation, and I encourage you to think about whether you're a physician or a patient or a family member of somebody with a chronic condition. Think about where do you feel supported, and oftentimes you'll feel like it's with people or places where you feel understood or people that are like-minded, and that's what group can offer, is it's a holding place where you can be safe.
And explore different ways of getting support and feel understood. That's the main thing. So I invite you to consider some kind of group support in your world.