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The
Community Center Project of CAMP Rehoboth is sponsoring two new support
groups this season, Growing Up Gay and The Retreat. Growing Up Gay is
targeted to 18 to 35 year old gay men and The Retreat is open to gay men
of all ages.
Many
people believe that support groups are intended for individuals who are
lonely, depressed, anxious or who suffer from some major dysfunction in
their lives. While there are support and therapy groups that target
these audiences, not all support groups require participants to be
diagnosed or diagnosable with neuroses or psychoses as a prerequisite
for joining a group. Some support groups are formed to help individuals
confront life’s issues and to foster growth. Such is the case with
Growing Up Gay and The Retreat.
In
the case of Growing Up Gay, younger gay men will be able to freely
discuss issues that normally arise in young adulthood and which are
shared by many gay men. For instance, when individuals are forming new
love relationships, often the subject of monogamy arises. In many cases,
one partner may feel differently than the other when the subject of
sexual fidelity is brought up. How do couples resolve this dilemma?
Individuals who attend Growing Up Gay have the possibility of learning
how others have come to grips with this same issue. Another example of
the potential utility of this kind of group has to do with “coming
out.”
Some
gay men are conflicted about the appropriateness of coming out at work,
to friends and/or to family. When is the right time? Is there a right
time? What would I be risking? Other issues individuals coming to the
group might expect to encounter include: sexual obsession and/or
addiction, safe sex negotiation, and socialization in and out of bars.
There is great potential for learning about oneself and others in this
type of group. Growing Up Gay is a drop-in group that will run all
summer and throughout the early Fall. The group meets every Monday night
from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Community Center, 39 Baltimore
Avenue. Think about dropping in one Monday night to give it a try.
The
other support group, The Retreat, has a very focused theme to it. This
group is intended for men of all ages who are looking to pursue
happiness and fulfillment in their lives but who find they run into
roadblocks in realizing their goals. In this group, men will explore
their goals and try to determine what gets in the way of achieving them.
The process of self-discovery requires individuals to allow themselves
to be vulnerable in order to receive meaningful feedback from others in
the group. Vulnerability is rewarded with the development of intimacy
and close bonds to other group members. The ultimate reward can be
exceptional personal growth and greater direction to the achievement of
one’s life goals. The Retreat is a drop-in group that will become a
closed group after 10 participants commit to it. Closing the group will
probably become a reality within the next few weeks, so if you are
interested, please come by soon to see if this is the right group for
you. The group meets every Thursday night from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
also at the Community Center, 39 Baltimore Avenue.
For
those who are interested in my background, I hold a Masters degree in
Social Work from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. and have been
facilitating groups since 1983 including groups run by The Gay Men’s
Counseling Collective in Washington, D.C., the Hyacinth Foundation in
New Jersey, the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Fort Lauderdale and
the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Project.
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