Here and Now

An Experiential Training in Group Dynamics & Interpersonal Process

There is something uniquely powerful about learning group process from inside the group itself.

Here and Now is a two-day experiential training for therapists who want to deepen their understanding of group dynamics and interpersonal process—not simply by learning about groups, but by experiencing the power of group process firsthand.

At the heart of the weekend will be participation in a live interpersonal process group. Together, we will pay attention to what emerges in the room: how connection develops, how patterns take shape, how vulnerability and conflict influence the group, and how relationships between members become a powerful vehicle for insight, growth, and change.

Group Process Is Something You Have to Experience

So much of what makes group work powerful cannot be fully understood through theory alone.

The most meaningful moments often emerge in ways we could never plan: someone takes a risk. Another member pulls away. Tension enters the room. A familiar relational pattern begins to unfold. The group becomes quiet—or suddenly very alive.

These moments offer a window into the interpersonal world of the group.

Learning to recognize and work with them requires more than knowing the “right” intervention. It requires developing the capacity to notice, feel, and understand what is happening in the room while you are part of it.

That capacity is at the heart of this training.

The Heart of the Training

Experience:
Participate in a live interpersonal process group and experience group dynamics as they unfold in real time.
Observe & Reflect:
Step back from the experience together to explore what happened beneath the surface—within individuals, between members, and in the group as a whole.
Learn:
Integrate didactic teaching and group process theory with what you have just experienced, creating a bridge between conceptual understanding and lived practice.

Who This Training Is For

This training is designed for therapists who want to:

Experience interpersonal process group work firsthand
Deepen their understanding of what happens beneath the surface in groups
Become more attuned to relational patterns as they emerge in real time
Better understand the power of the here-and-now in group therapy
Develop greater trust in themselves within the complexity and unpredictability of group process

This training is appropriate both for therapists currently facilitating groups and those interested in bringing more group work into their practice.

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Carrie Haynes, LPC

Carrie Haynes, LPC, is a psychotherapist, group facilitator, trainer, and consultant with more than twenty years of clinical experience and a particular passion for the transformative potential of groups.

Her work with groups began in university counseling, where she spent many years facilitating therapy groups and helping develop and lead a robust group therapy program. Group work has remained at the center of her professional life through interpersonal process groups, experiential retreats, training, consultation, and mentoring therapists.

Carrie's approach is relational and experiential, with a particular interest in helping therapists develop the capacity to listen to and work with the group itself.

Andrew L. Brimhall, PhD

Andrew L. Brimhall, PhD, serves as Assistant Director of Training and Group Services at Colorado State University's Health Network, where he oversees the training of doctoral psychology interns in Interpersonal Process Group Therapy.

Andrew brings a Yalom-inspired approach to interpersonal process group therapy integrated with a social justice-informed framework. Throughout his career, he has facilitated a wide range of groups and now primarily leads Interpersonal Process Groups.

His experience as both a facilitator and trainer brings particular depth to helping clinicians understand the complexity of group dynamics as they unfold in real time.

Together, Carrie and Andrew bring decades of experience facilitating, teaching, and thinking deeply about groups. Throughout the weekend, they will move between facilitating the live group experience and helping participants step back, reflect, and make sense of what is unfolding.

What We'll Explore

Didactic teaching will be woven into the experiential work and may include:

✓ The here-and-now in interpersonal process groups

✓ Group development, cohesion, and the relational field

✓ Recognizing interpersonal and group-level patterns

✓ Understanding roles, norms, and dynamics as they emerge

✓ Working with vulnerability, conflict, withdrawal, and connection

✓ The role and use of self of the group facilitator

Rather than teaching these concepts in isolation, we will continually connect theory back to what is happening within our own group experience.

Why the Group Will Be Intentionally Small

The intimacy of the group is part of the learning:

This training will be intentionally limited in size.

A smaller group allows participants to become genuine members of the group rather than observers at the edges of an experience. There is more opportunity to notice individual and group patterns, take interpersonal risks, receive feedback, and explore what is happening together in real time.

The group itself becomes part of the classroom.

What to Expect

This will not be two days of sitting through presentations.

The weekend will move between direct experience and making meaning of that experience together.

The Training will include:

✓ Live interpersonal process group experiences

✓ Facilitated observation and reflection

✓ Didactic teaching in group dynamics and interpersonal process

✓ Opportunities to explore facilitator choices and interventions

✓ Integration of theory with what is unfolding in the room

✓ Time for questions, discussion, and application to your own group work

Participants should come prepared to engage personally as well as professionally.

What You May Take With You

Rather than a set of scripts or formulas, the hope is that you leave with a deeper capacity to see, feel, and understand group process.

✓ A more embodied understanding of interpersonal process

✓ Greater ability to recognize dynamics unfolding beneath the surface

✓ Increased confidence staying present when groups become complex or unpredictable

✓ A deeper understanding of the facilitator's role within the relational field

✓ Greater trust in the therapeutic potential of the group itself

The aim is not simply to know more about groups—but to experience group process differently when you return to the facilitator's chair.

Details at a Glance

Dates: November 14-15, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM-5:00 PM both days
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Format: In-person, experiential training

Investment: $400
Audience: Mental Health Professionals
Experience: No prior group facilitation experience required

Experience Group Process From the Inside Out

If you're curious about group work—or already leading groups and longing to understand more deeply what happens beneath the surface—Here and Now offers an opportunity to step inside the process yourself.

Come learn not only through theory, but through relationship, experience, reflection, and the living dynamics of the group.

November 14–15, 2026 | Fort Collins, Colorado | Limited Enrollment

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