Starting a Group — An Internal and External Process: Interview with Janet Griffis & Monrovia Van Hoose

By Sophie Abel

Lightly edited for flow and clarity.

Sophie: Thanks for meeting with me to talk about the workshop you held on May 15, 2026 for AGPS: “Starting a Group – An Internal and External Process.”  Let’s dig in. The workshop title splits starting a group into an internal process and an external one — what's the difference?
Janet: Internal process is what you go through within yourself. Questions like: Am I ready? Do I want to? How do I know if I'm going to be good? The external process is more the mechanics, the execution, frame–how many people, how will I select them, etc.

Monrovia: Yes, we started with internal–what are your worries? How do you feel as a leader? 

Sophie: What made you choose to start with internal first?

Monrovia: This seemed like an appropriate sequence, internal exploration before planning. The internal part can be more challenging–Do I feel confident enough to lead a group? Am I skilled enough to start a group, and have someone pay money for it? 

Janet: It was interesting, even after rehearsing, we ran through the first half a lot quicker than anticipated. It flew by quickly and we were already talking about the external process. 

Sophie: It makes me wonder about the process, you both conducting a workshop, which is a type of group. Do you have ideas about why you flew through the focus on the internal process? 

Janet: Yeah, maybe my own anxiety about presenting was analogous to how people feel starting groups. The participants' eagerness for concrete steps to starting a group may have indicated their own anxiety about the internal process. 

Monrovia: In the Q&A, people told horror stories about their struggles with starting groups. Maybe there wasn’t enough trust established at the beginning for that vulnerable content.

Janet: Right! Are participants really going to be forthcoming about their internal process–joining a group–before we have even had an hour together?  Probably not!

Sophie: Have the two of you presented on this topic before? 

Janet: No, this was our first time. The idea of leading a workshop about starting groups was on my mind for a while when I was on the board at AGPS. Everyone was noodling on these cool ideas about speakers to bring in, but it all seemed a bit advanced. Once, at an AGPS Happy Hour, I noticed people asking a lot of questions informally about logistics for groups. So I had an idea for a beginner level workshop. 

Sophie: And it clearly was needed! There was a lot of interest in this workshop. How did Monrovia enter the picture?

Janet: When I initially had the idea, I knew it would be good to have a co-leader, and Monrovia came to mind.  We were roommates at AGPA in the DC conference and I felt drawn to her. I like how she shows up at professional events, with humor and clinical insight. 

Monrovia: That’s very touching, Janet!  I am not a big fan of public speaking, so I would not have done this by myself.  But I liked the idea of presenting together.  

Janet: Yeah, and Monrovia has a different background so we each had stories that highlighted different aspects of the challenges of starting a group.  I’m leading my first long-term group, so the presentation was deeply personal. I could speak directly to the participants’ experience.  

Monrovia: You came across as very relatable.  

Sophie: Vulnerability is so healing. 

Sophie: How did you end up in group work?

Janet: I love being in a therapy group and it has changed my life. I'm 100% all into long-term groups for the long term. Monrovia’s had a lot more experience in the group world.

Sophie: What's a practical tool or handout from the workshop that someone could use this week if they're thinking about starting a group?

Monrovia: Janet created a handout for the workshop: Starting a Group: Checklist and FAQs.

Janet: It’s a bullet point list of things to consider and decisions to make when starting a group.  I’m happy to share it with anyone who emails me. (janetgriffis75@gmail.com)

Here is a taste:

STEP ONE: THINK ABOUT IT

Considerations/Thoughts Prior to Starting A Group:

Why do I want to start a group?
Would I make a good group leader?
When is a good time to begin?
What do I expect the challenges to be?
How do I know if I am ready to start a group?
What do I need to do to prepare to start a group?
What support do I have in place?


Sophie: Thank you for that!  Can you give us some highlights from the workshop?

Monrovia: I talked about feeling liberated from the idea that a group that doesn’t last a decade is a failure. I had to work through a sense of inadequacy and I hope we shared some of that acceptance with our audience. 

Janet: I had this fantasy that I was going to start a group and it was going to look like a group that has been together for 20 years from the get-go.  The reality is each group is going to be unique. It helps me to hear about the struggles faced by newer group leaders, and I hope I was able to give that to our audience. Another key point is that creating a successful group takes patience. This is a long game, with growth along the way. It’s a theme I’m really drawing on.  

Monrovia: Of course there are principles for how to start and lead a group, but I have learned that just to be my own authentic professional self is more valuable than trying to be just like any other group leader. 

Sophie: “Intentionally Monrovia.” 

Monrovia: [laughter] Yeah! And it’s ok to go to these workshops and not to even be leading a group.

Janet: Or to have a group that's not a modern analytic process group! That came up in the questions. 

Sophie: If you did a follow up workshop, what might it look like?

Janet:  I'd love to do a presentation on the next steps of working through challenges in a group.   

Monrovia: And early stages are crucial–the forming and then the storming.  “I started my group–now what?”

Sophie: Perfect ending.

Janet Griffis, LPC, LMFT, CGP is an individual, couples and group therapist. Janet is an active member of the Austin Group Psychotherapy Society and the American Group Psychotherapy Association. She served on the Board of AGPS from 2022-2025. She has recently begun studying with the Center for Group Studies in New York. Janet enjoys learning about group therapy, participating in group therapy, and mentoring younger therapists in the practice of group therapy. Her specialties include family of origin attachment wounds, trauma recovery, eating disorders and substance abuse, divorce recovery, blending families, infertility and parenting. Janet sees individuals, couples, families and also runs groups.

Monrovia Van Hoose got her Master’s Degree in Social Work at Columbia University in 2007. She was the Clinical Director of Out Youth Austin from 2008 – 2012. She opened her private practice in 2011 where she provides individual, couples, family, and group psychotherapy. She became a Certified Group Psychotherapist and a Clinical Supervisor in 2023, and currently runs a training group and a supervision/consultation group.

She served on the Board of AGPS from 2022 to 2024 and has been a student at the Center for Group Studies since 2021. She has presented and written on gender identity, borderline personality disorder, boundaries, LGBTQI populations, sexuality, dual diagnosis, adolescents, anxiety, and OCD. Personal interests include music, exercise, cooking, reading, and watching dumb comedies.