Division 49, the Society of Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy, is a small but highly interconnected division composed of researchers, academics, and clinicians who often hold membership across divisions, including 12, 17, 27, 35, 44, 45, and 52, to name a few. A central priority of Division 49 is strengthening our collaborations with other divisions and advancing how the theory, research, and practice of group psychology and group psychotherapy can be leveraged for social change and social justice. Given the breadth of populations and settings our members serve, we aim to integrate group theory and practice while expanding engagement within the division. To illustrate this commitment, we highlight two recent collaborative initiatives.
The first initiative is a CODAPAR-funded webinar series developed in partnership with Divisions 52, 7, 9, 12, 15, and 37: Conversation Hour: Children and Adolescents of the Americas—Challenges, Strengths, Cultures, Interventions, and Policies. This series centers on youth across North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean; regions often underrepresented in psychological research compared to traditional East–West frameworks. On February 20, Division 49 co-hosted a webinar titled The Role of Group Dynamics in Learning and Growth among Children and Adolescents: Perspectives from Central America, moderated by Dr. Tony Sheppard and presented by Dr. Rita Rivera and Gabriel L. Medianero Araúz. Drawing from Honduras and Panama, Division 49 presenters highlighted culturally grounded strengths in group-based learning, including collaboration, familismo, interdependence, and collective identity.
The second initiative involves collaboration with the International Institute for Trauma Studies (IITS) at the Pedagogical University of Vinnytsia in Ukraine, through teaching the Principles of Group Psychotherapy course online in 2025 and 2026. IITS, founded in 2023 by group psychotherapist Gaea Logan in response to the war, addresses the urgent need for scalable mental health interventions. Since its inception, the institute has trained over 4,000 clinicians and reached more than 50,000 Ukrainians through direct care. U.S.-based group therapists volunteer alongside Ukrainian faculty and students and have delivered over 425 hours of advanced group psychotherapy training (on grief, trauma, compassion, etc.) despite ongoing challenges such as blackouts, displacement, and safety threats.
IITS also established an outpatient practicum clinic, which has provided over 1,000 consultations both in person and online to widows, children, soldiers, students, and families. Training extends to graduate students, military psychologists, psychiatrists, school counselors, and grief workers. Even amid bomb shelters and disrupted infrastructure, participants continue to engage in learning and care delivery. Through these efforts, group psychotherapy serves not only as a clinical intervention, but as a vehicle for resilience, connection, and collective healing within a nation at war. Learn more or donate via the websiteopens in new window.
To learn more about our division and activities, take a look at our Winter/Spring Issue of our newsletter, The Group Psychologistopens in new window or visit our Evidence-Based Group Therapy websiteopens in new window to support group as a modality of healing.