The Center for Group Studies provides a unique method of group training which utilizes the methods developed by Dr. Louis Ormont. These principals and techniques are based on the theory that the group is a powerful agent of change. By understanding the dynamic theory behind these techniques, the leader is able to help group members recognize and use all feelings, including aggressive feelings, in constructive ways.
Graduates are able to utilize their new group skills by working effectively with resistances that commonly arise in groups including:
• monopolizing
• scapegoating
• silence and boredom
• lateness
• group destructive behaviors
What do our students and graduates do? Our graduates work in mental health, community, business and educational settings They work in schools as teachers and counselors; they work with caregiver groups at the Alzheimer's Association; they help train mental health workers dealing with substance abuse, trauma and PTSD; they work in public programs involving domestic violence; they work in pastoral care programs; they are members of the Health Care Chaplaincy; they work for organizations running groups for AIDS related illnesses; they work in small and large businesses running groups to improve communication and much more
About Our Founder
Louis Ormont, Ph.D.(1918-2008),was a psychologist and psychoanalyst who specialized in group therapy for over 45 years. He facilitated over 20,000 groups and was the author of 31 professional articles and several books, including the highly acclaimed The Group Therapy Experience (1992, St. Martin’s Press) and The Technique of Group Treatment (2001, Psychosocial Press).
Dr. Ormont developed a theory of technique which highlighted the strength of the group as the primary agent of change. This technique moved the focus of the group from the leader to the group, minimizing the leader-centered approach as well as minimizing doing individual work in the group setting. His work is grounded in the concept that the group is a microcosm of the 'real world,' and that 'those successful in groups are successful in life.'
“Dr. Ormont’s contributions survive, not only through the experiences of those who knew him, but also through his influence on the practice of group therapy. His is the influence of someone whose ideas have become part of received professional wisdom, so that they are current, without necessarily being attributed or acknowledged. He was one of those who expanded group therapy...He is usually linked with modern psychoanalysis, but he was one of those larger-than-life figures whom it would be unwise to pidgeonhole or imitate.”
““Louis Ormont is one of the most dynamic, creative and scholarly group therapists in the world. His innovative approach is taught in a consistent and in-depth fashion at the Center for Group Studies.””
Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Gail A. Brown
Wilma Selenfriend
Gail A. Brown, Interim President
Jeffrey Glatzer, Vice President
E.Paul Kanefsky
Wilma Selenfriend, Secretary
The Center for Group Studies is a 501(c)(3)non-profit educational corporation.
It operates under the aegis of the NYS Board of Regents, The University of the State of New York and is approved by the NYS Office of the Professions to offer Continuing Education hours.