BizSugar.com › Self-Development › Entrepreneurial 'Therapy': Deals, Divorce, Downsizing

Once a month, eight New York area entrepreneurs cancel all appointments, power down BlackBerrys and cellphones and gather in a cone of silence. For three hours, they unload the triumphs, and more often, stresses, not shared with spouses, friends or boards: a marriage on the rocks, the pain of firing a long-term employee, depression that's usurped their passion for work.

Protocols are strict. There are no excuses for latecomers --10 minutes stuck in traffic costs $100 toward the group's dinner -- and the price of regular absenteeism is their membership. No one gives advice; only similar experiences may be shared. Cross this line and you'll be cut off midsentence. In return, there are seven people you can trust with your deepest, and occasionally, darkest secrets.

This is Forum -- a type of professional group therapy. Members of this particular collective belong to the Entrepreneurs' Organization, a 6,600-member international community of people who own and run companies.