Following the Steps: Leaning on Support to Take My Group Practice From Idea to Potential Reality Nicole Hart1,2 issn 0362-4021 © 2017 Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society group, Vol. 41, No. 4, Winter 2017 337 1 This article previously appeared in The Voice, the newsletter of the Austin Group Psychotherapy Society. Reprinted with permission. 2 Private practice, Pflugerville, TX. Correspondence should be addressed to Nichole Hart, MA, LPC-S, 15901 Central Commerce Drive, Suite 506, Pflugerville, TX 78660. E-mail: nichole@ hartcounselingservices.com. It’s hard to know where to start with a story. The beginning of the story inevitably connects with prior events, and likewise, the story continues after it “ends.” I’m honored to be able to share a chapter of how I went from running no groups to running two groups. The process did not take years and years. It did take support, some leaps of faith, and perseverance. When The Voice editor, Stacy Nakell, extended an invitation at the Austin Group Psychotherapy Society (AGPS) annual meeting to consider writing for The Voice, I was intrigued. A connection happened internally as Stacy talked about writing, and I am learning to take note of that internal sense, largely due to my participation in a therapy group. For years, I heard from two friends about the power of group therapy. Then, about a year or so into my individual therapy, my therapist began talking with me about joining a group. At first, I was scared. And I was intrigued. It took me quite a while to move past my fear, but, thankfully, I did make the choice to join a group. As soon as I joined a therapy group, I knew without a doubt that I wanted to lead groups and that I wanted groups to be an integral part of my therapy practice. Being a part of a group of people who were willing to engage authentically with one another deeply moved me. It was the first time in my therapy career (spanning 13 years at the time) that I could genuinely say, “I am passionate about this.” Of course, as soon as I thought about forming a group, I ran into doubts. Fear filled me when I considered the prospect of leading a group by myself. I talked 338 hart extensively with my therapist about my fears and the certainty I felt that I could not lead a group by myself. She had a different view and was just as persistent in her view that I absolutely could lead a group by myself. I also talked with various people I met through the Austin Group Psychotherapy Society (AGPS), and each said, “Of course you can lead a group by yourself.” Several of them were leading or had led groups independently, and they loved the experience. Slowly, it began to sink in that maybe it was possible for me to lead a group by myself, and, over time, that grew into a wholehearted belief of “yes, of course I can lead a group by myself!” After deciding to start a group in my practice, I decided to wait until I had been in my own group for a year. This decision to wait a year was the only decision early in the process that didn’t plague me with doubt. I understood that a major part of my training for leading a group was coming from the experiences I was having with my own group leaders. In my initial group consultation, I learned from them how to address fears, questions, and doubts about joining a group. I continue to learn week to week in the group from the way the leaders respond to my experiences and our group experiences as a whole. The often slow process of putting thoughts, feelings, and urges into words increased my capacity to step into and sit with discomfort across all situations. In short, becoming a member of a group was absolutely an essential and necessary piece to have in place before beginning my own group practice. More doubts surfaced in connection with my office space, which was not set up to lead groups. At that time, I had to work through whether...