Upcoming events

Menu
Log in

Mid-Atlantic Group Psychotherapy Society

The Mid-Atlantic Group Psychotherapy Society (MAGPS) is a regional affiliate of the American Group Psychotherapy Association that serves group therapists in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Log in

MAGPS CONFERENCE SERIES

Registration is now open for
the 2026 Summer Short Course

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE



Pull Up a Chair: 
Starting a Group and Making it Go

with
Sonia Kahn, PsyD, CGP
&
Michael Magenheimer, PsyD, CGP


June 13, 2026

Park Place - 10th Floor Lounge
Arlington, VA

ABOUT OUR CONFERENCES

MAGPS hosts two annual conferences, one in the fall and one in the spring. These conferences are designed to bring together members of our community who are interested in coming together to learn about group therapy and group dynamics in a warm, collegial environment.

It is the mission of MAGPS to establish a safe, unique, creative learning environment for all attendees by hosting conferences that offer both didactic and experiential learning through participating in whole group and small group processes.  Throughout small group sessions over the course of conference weekends, challenging dynamics may emerge requiring participants to respond to, witness, take responsibility for, and self-reflect upon microaggressions, power and privilege dynamics, effectively manage ruptures, and to the degree possible, restore or repair relational ruptures.  While Small Groups can be a powerful learning tool, this experience has harmed colleagues holding marginalized identities in the past.  Prior to registering for a conference, please review MAGPS Safe Environmental Guidelines, as well as the following recommendations made by the AGPA Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Task Force, by clicking on the hyperlinked text AGPA Guidelines for Creating Affirming Group ExperiencesYou may also find it beneficial to review our Conference Guidelines for Participation

MAGPS conferences are intended for psychologists, counselors, psychiatric nurses, psychiatrists, and social workers. Conferences offer both didactic and experiential learning experiences to deepen attendees' understanding of topical content in preparation for introducing the gained knowledge into their group therapy work. CEs are available for interested participants; please read our conference registration packet to ensure that your discipline is covered.  

While we offer conference registration discounts for MAGPS members, attendees do NOT need to be members of MAGPS or AGPA to attend, nor do they need to be actively practicing group therapy, or live/work in the Mid-Atlantic region. 

Scholarships are available for students and first-time attendees. Click here for more information and apply for a scholarship.

Please reach out to us at conferences@magps.org if you have any questions. We hope to see you at an upcoming event!  


ALL UPCOMING EVENTS

    • 15 May 2026
    • 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
    • As You Are Bar, 500 8th Street SE, Washington, DC 20003
    Register


    • 13 Jun 2026
    • 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
    • Park Place, 10th Floor Lounge, 1655 N. Fort Myer Drive, Arlington VA 22209
    Register

    PULL UP A CHAIR: 
    STARTING A GROUP AND MAKING IT GO

    Presented by
    Sonia Kahn, PsyD, CGP &
    Michael Magenheimer, PsyD, CGP

    VISIT OUR CONFERENCE WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS, INCLUDING  EVENT SCHEDULE, PRESENTER BIOS, AND RECOMMENDED READINGS.


    Group therapy is incredibly powerful. You've read the theory and seen the research; you believe in the healing potential of the interpersonal process and have probably even experienced it yourself. You want to run groups, and there's a group (or several) you've been meaning to start. But something keeps getting in the way.

    Pull Up a Chair: Starting a Group and Making It Go is a day-long workshop for therapists who are ready to move from simply reading about group therapy to actually starting and leading their own process groups. This intensive walks through the full arc of getting a group off the ground.

    Attendees will learn to identify the specific mechanisms that promote healing and growth in group therapy and how to talk about them with prospective members; consider methods of group composition that promote cohesion and longevity; and navigate the ethical concerns that may arise when making group referrals to ongoing patients. Attendees will also have the opportunity to explore their own resistances and countertransferences to group therapy in the here-and-now, identifying internalized (and often unconscious) conflicts that may be keeping them from pulling up the chair(s).

    This is a practical, clinically grounded seminar designed for the realities of private practice. Come ready to work.

    By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

    1. Identify the therapeutic mechanisms that make an interpersonal process group uniquely effective, including group composition factors.
    2. Evaluate a patient's appropriateness for a group therapy referral through an assessment of their ego strength, current readiness, and resistances.
    3. Make appropriate group therapy referrals that consider the importance of timing, contextualizing group within a patient's existing treatment plan, and working effectively with common forms of resistance.
    4. Identify how their own countertransference(s) may impact a group's launch and strategies for effectively managing these reactions.
    5. Employ here-and-now facilitation techniques that set a frame and foundation for process-oriented work from the first session.

    6.5 CE/CME (pending approval) available for psychologists, social workers, counselors, and physicians. 
    †The content for this activity has been submitted for continuing education credits. For questions, email cce@ubhc.rutgers.edu.

    REGISTRATION RATES AND INFORMATION

    Park Place – 10th Floor Lounge 
    1655 N. Fort Myer Drive
    Arlington, VA 22209

    Saturday, June 13, 2026
    9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

    Conference Fees:
    MAGPS Member: $200
    Non-Member: $250
    New Professional: $180
    Student/Retiree: $140
    Scholarship Recipients: Free
    **CE/CME Processing Fee: $50

    **Note: For attendees interested in obtaining continuing education credit, an additional CE/CME Processing Fee will be applied. Payment can be processed at time of registration.

    Scholarships: 
    Aply by May 30, 2026. Learn more here.

    Registration Deadline: 
    Saturday, June 6, 2026

    Cancellation Policy: 
    Full refund less $25 if cancellation made by Sunday, June 7;
    No refunds after that date.

    Getting There: 
    Park Place is located approximately 1.5 blocks from the Rosslyn Metro Station. Ample street and garage parking is also available nearby.

    For registration assistance, or to register by phone, contact our conference registrar at registration@magps.org.

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software