New Group for Men Forming in Georgetown, TX!
Focus of the group:
How to Be a Better Husband (or Partner)
The overarching objective of this group is to help you live more fully aligned with your ideals about what it means to be a husband/partner.
Why a Group for Men?
This group was borne out of my work with men over the years. A large number of the men I worked
with were overly defensive when we first began — some took little responsibility for their marital/relationship problems, and others were quick to point the finger at what they perceived as the unreasonableness of “demanding” others.
Yet for the men who opened up and began to slowly turn defensiveness into self-reflection, something powerful happened:
These men began to see their struggles in a different way. The layers of egotism and stoicism that blocked emotional connection and fulfillment were held up to the light. Anger gave way to greater clarity of their underlying needs. Difficulties in opening up to loved ones were explored without pretense.
They connected to the underlying frustration and pain of feeling like they were failing in their marriages/relationships. Central to their happiness was the ability to make their wife/partner happy.
The theme across the many men I worked with became clear: They wanted to succeed as husbands/partners.
And they felt emotionally lost, helpless and confused when this didn’t happen.
Many of these men had the best intentions. They just didn’t have the tools needed to reach their goals of being a better husband.
This group is designed to give men these tools.
More about the Men’s Group
Each group session will be semi-structured, centering on a particular topic/theme related to the challenges of being a husband. While certain topics will be discussed, the group will also be shaped by the particular needs of the group participants.
Some group topics/themes will include:
✓ The shifting roles and new demands placed on us as husbands;
✓ How our deep-seated masculine identifications can constrict our ability to be emotionally open and more intimate with our wives/partners;
✓ How to exit an action/advice-giving mode of communication and enter an empathic listening mode (a shift that replaces power struggles with mutuality);
✓ Finding a language to capture and express our emotional lives — a rich inner life that we learned to distance ourselves from (or that we mis-identify as “stress” or “anger”).
✓ The group will also focus on the many strengths each of us brings to the group. Strengths that may have been underutilized, strengths that may not have been recognized.
✓ Together we’ll create a safe/respectful environment where we can open up about our deepest struggles and fears.
Are you ready to be challenged and grow as a spouse/partner?
Mutual respect and support are the foundation of the men’s group. You need to feel that you can open yourself up (as much as you need to in order to grow) in a safe environment, without judgment from your peers.
But support isn’t enough.
We need to challenge ourselves to grow as men and as husbands/partners — work to understand our emotional blindspots, to practice humility and tolerate uncertainty. Ideally you will leave this group feeling supported, understood, and motivated to reach beyond your emotional comfort zone.
What this group is not
I’ve found that many men avoid groups like this because they worry that the goal of the group is to turn them into someone who is “touchy feely,” or that they will be stripped of the masculine ideals they value and instead made to think, act and feel more like women.
This isn’t the agenda of the group!
(And from what I’ve learned in doing therapy for over twenty years, this isn’t what most women want in their partners/spouses anyway.)
Finally, the goal of this group isn’t to complain about our wives/partners or create shared narratives that we are victims of wives/partners who simply ask too much of us. This type of group environment will not lead to the self-reflection/awareness that meaningful self-growth is built upon.
Are you ready to take the next step?
Group Information
Fee: $60/group meeting
Session length: 90 minutes
Group duration: The group will run for 12 meetings
Time/Day: Thursdays 6:30pm-8:00pm (12 consecutive Thursdays; first meeting date TBA)
Group size: Limited to 6-8 members
Taking the next step:
***A 30-minute in-person consultation with Dr. Nicastro is required before joining the group (there is no cost for this consultation)***
For more information about the upcoming How to be a Better Husband men’s group or to set up your free consultation meeting, email or call Dr. Rich Nicastro at (512) 931-9128.
I look forward to connecting with you!
Dr. Rich Nicastro
(Featured image: stock images www.freedigitalphotos.net)