Course design: An integration of didactic and experiential approaches to graduate training of group therapy

Graduate training programs attempt to teach group therapy courses using experiential learning methods and theoretical concepts. Presently, however, these courses often maintain a rather unstructured format for fostering an experiential group process. The literature suggests that without standardized course objectives, students are vulnerable to harm and inadequately prepared for professional demands, and faculty are insufficiently prepared with guidelines for instruction. This article reviews the historical evolution of experiential courses, raises questions about the ethical integrity of such courses in their current form, and proposes a new course design that integrates essential components of learning theory. Standards for integrating a developmental approach to learning, beginning with didactic tasks and advancing to more experiential tasks, more effectively uphold ethical principles, provide an outline for comprehensive instruction, and enhance student learning.