Helping Groups Heal: Leading Small Groups in the Process of Transformation

Spirituality and Mental Health

By: Jan Paul Hook EdD, Joshua N. Hook PhD, Don E. Davis PhD

Narrated by: T.J. Allen

Life with others is messy. The bonds we form are often the source that drives us to helping professionals like therapists and pastors in the first place. And yet, it is from these relation­ships that our greatest moments of healing spring. Recogniz­ing the value of relationships, pastors and therapists have been leading small therapeutic groups for years. Yet few lead­ers have a specific, easy-to-follow, and researched framework to structure their groups.

Helping Groups Heal presents “The Healing Cycle”, a grace-based model that facilitates healing and growth in groups. It has been tested with a variety of settings and can be adapted to nearly any small group, from sex-addiction therapy to marriage therapy to Bible studies.

The basic components of “The Healing Cycle” are grace, safety, vulnerability, truth, ownership, and confession. Helping Groups Heal guides the listener through these elements, offering case studies and practical advice from the voices of researchers and practitioners. Each chapter shows how “The Healing Cycle” moves its members to share their truth, own it, and make positive change in their lives. Each step of the process allows participants to move past surface issues and find depth in their understanding of their pain.

©2017 Jan Paul Hook, EdD, Joshua N. Hook, PhD, and Don E. Davis, PhD (P)2018 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

“Thoroughly 'user friendly' in tone, commentary, organization and presentation, Helping Groups Heal is an accessible, easy-to-follow guide for non-specialist general readers...." (Midwest Book Review)

“Helping Groups Heal is a must-read book." (Jamie D. Aten, PhD, founder and executive director, Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College)

“A great resource for anyone working with groups.” (Association of Christian Counselors)