INNOVATIVE APPROACH SUPPORTING THOSE WITH AN OVERCONTROLLED COPING STYLE

A new book which explores a model of treatment developed in St Patrick’s Mental Health Services for people experiencing mental health difficulties associated with overcontrol, such as mood disorders, eating disorders and certain personality disorders was recently launched.

Since its inception, the Group Radical Openness (GRO) model is being practised in a range of centres across Ireland and the UK, including personality disorder units, prisons, eating disorder programmes, as well as in community mental health settings.

Overcontrol can become costly and lead to difficulties such as a deep sense of loneliness, which along with isolation, is one of the biggest predictors of mental health difficulties. It is a style of coping that includes keeping others at a distance, having a strong desire for order and control, and difficulty experiencing and expressing emotions. It often develops in early life in an effort to feel safe.

In their new book, ‘Group Radical Openness: An Intervention for Overcontrol’ (published by Routledge), Dr Rachel Egan, Principal Clinical Psychologist at St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, and Dr Richard Booth, former Director of Psychology at St Patrick’s, introduce the model of treatment called Group Radical Openness, an innovative group therapy programme aimed at people who have difficulties with overcontrol.

The book opens with the background and evolution of GRO and supports clinicians with a guide and tools on how to assess overcontrol and implement GRO practices.

GRO is a transdiagnostic group, meaning that those who attend may have different diagnoses, but will all share common overcontrolled ways of coping. It is a 27-session programme that takes place over a five-month period.