Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life

On her way to her first meeting of her biweekly group, Christie falls on some ice, which she takes as an ominous sign. The members of this group have all been in therapy together for years. Max, a former drug addict turned country-clubber, asks what she’s heard about them. When she refuses to respond, he recounts some of her sexual exploits they’ve heard about from Blake and Jeremy. Christie asks how this group is advanced, and they run through a litany of ways they’ve seen Dr. Rosen embarrass himself personally. Dr. Rosen smiles and receives it, but Christie declares that if she doesn’t have the relationship she wants in six months, she’s quitting. The group members, including Patrice from the first group, question this. As the months go by, Christie develops constipation and is asked out by her upstairs neighbor, Alex.

Alex and Christie go on two dates: dinner at an Irish pub and an evening of jazz. Over jazz, Christie tells Alex about Dr. Rosen and group, and Alex tells her that his parents married and divorced each other twice. Sharing together feels like the type of trust and vulnerability she’s only experienced in group.