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The theory and practice of group psychotherapy

01 Jan 1970-
TL;DR: Yalom as mentioned in this paper described the course of therapy from both the patient's and the therapist's viewpoint in Encounter Groups: First Facts (1973) and Every Day gets a Little Closer: A Twice-Told Therapy (1974).
Abstract: This book first appeared in 1970 and has gone into two further editions, one in 1975 and this one in 1985. Yalom is also the author of Existential Psychotherapy (1980), In-patient Group Psychotherapy (1983), the co-author with Lieberman of Encounter Groups: First Facts (1973) and with Elkin of Every Day Gets a Little Closer: A Twice-Told Therapy (1974) (which recounts the course of therapy from the patient's and the therapist's viewpoint). The present book is the central work of the set and seems to me the most substantial. It is also one of the most readable of his works because of its straightforward style and the liberal use of clinical examples.
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Educational interventions that positively influence this process have established regular opportunities for critical reflection by the students in small groups and include faculty development to enhance role modeling and feedback by clinical faculty.
Abstract: Philosophers who studied moral development have found that individuals normally progress rapidly in early adulthood from a conventional stage in which they base behavior on the norms and values of those around them to a more principled stage where they identify and attempt to live by personal moral values. Available data suggest that many medical students, who should be in this transition, show little change in their moral development. Possibly, this relates to perceived pressures to conform to the informal culture of the medical wards. Many students experience considerable internal dissidence as they struggle to accommodate personal values related to empathy, care, and compassion to their clinical training. Educational interventions that positively influence this process have established regular opportunities for critical reflection by the students in small groups. Other interventions include faculty development to enhance role modeling and feedback by clinical faculty. The author espouses more widespread adoption of these educational interventions.

195 citations

Journal ArticleDOI

191 citations


Cites background from "The theory and practice of group ps..."

  • ...Rogerss interest in encounter groups, in conjunction with Yaloms (1969) groundbreaking work on therapeutic factors in groups, stimulated a steady stream of research projects on the process and outcome of groups (eg, D....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Group Attitude Scale (GAS) as discussed by the authors is a 20-item self-report measure constructed following an extensive survey of the literature in the area of attraction to group.
Abstract: This article reports the development of an instrument to measure attraction to group and discusses several studies designed to assess its reliability and validity. The Group Attitude Scale is a 20-item self-report measure constructed following an extensive survey of the literature in the area of attraction to group. Final selection of items was based on data obtained from 178 members in 26 groups. In three studies, coefficient alpha has ranged from .90 to .97 at various points in the life of the participating groups. GAS scores are significantly related to interpersonal attraction among group members, group attendance, and termination anxiety. Scores on the GAS alsocorrelate significantly with process consultants' assessments of members' levels ofattraction to group and to scores on the cohesion subscale of the Group Environment Scale (Moos et al., 1974). Implications for research and practice are discussed.

191 citations

Book
01 Mar 1997
TL;DR: Wachtel as mentioned in this paper describes a movement away from an intra-psychic, drive reduction, hydraulic model of human development to a relational approach based on analyses of relationships, and the therapist is not just a passive "blank screen" but an active participant in a "twoperson" model of the world.
Abstract: Psychoanalysis, Behavior Therapy, and the Relational World Paul Wachtel. American Psychological Association, 1997. 484 pp., $49.95 (39.95 to APA members) (hardcover). The history of our field illustrates two oscillating dynamics; separation and integration. While earlier eras, which saw the emergence of the great theories (Freudian, Adlerian Behavioral) were separative in nature, the recent period has been characterized by integration. It's as though one extreme breeds another, only to be gradually replaced by fewer extreme views as the older protagonists are replaced by second generation theorists who more clearly recognize the complexity of the human condition and are less wedded to their own creation. Paul Wachtel's latest book is clearly integrative and follows logically from his 1977 book Psychoanalysis and Behavior Therapy. This book has been widely cited as a classic and indeed maybe said to have begun the integration movement. However, it's not really a new book at all, since the first part is simply a reprint of that earlier work. This is followed by seven additional chapters focussing on the further integration of both psychoanalysis end behavior therapy with more contextual and systemic therapies. In addition) this second part addresses the integration since 1977 that has occurred as a result of the schema-focussed and constructivistic movements within cognitive behavior therapy and object relations, self-psychology, and the new relational emphasis within psychoanalysis. The book was constructed in this manner, Wachtel says, because the original book was written in such a seamless fashion that new concepts could not be inserted without appeal to be awkward add-ons. The original 1977 book was an excellent exploration of points of contact and divergence between psychoanalysis and behavior therapy, both theoretical and clinical, and remains so to this day. Indeed, I was struck with how contemporary it still seems. What's dated is some of the large, because the male pronoun was and is here consistently used. Wachtel has an interesting solution to that problem which I'll mention later. Because the original book is widely known I'll restrict this review to the second section. The second part consists of seven new chapters. The notion of cyclical dynamics pervades this section. Cyclical dynamics refers to an examination of the contextual nature of human psychological processes and the ways in which people mutually shape each other's experiences end behaviors. It also deals with the repetitive intrapersonal patterns of behavior, often self-defeating, which pervades human activity. It essentially ties together the constructivistic movement in cognitive behavior therapy to the relational element in a modern psychoanalysis. The first chapter in the second section discusses the evolution of the psychotherapy integration movement, from the point of view of an insider who helped create it. This chapter is an excellent historical summary and bogs down only when Wachtel describes and critiques in some detail the integration efforts of some psychoanalytic thinkers. One has to be a student of their works to follow the discussion well. The next chapter is an excellent discussion of recent changes in psychoanalytic thinking which was fascinating to an outsider like me. Essentially, it describes a movement away from an intrapsychic, drive reduction, hydraulic model of human development to owe based on analyses of relationships. The therapist is, within this new paradigm, not just a passive "blank screen" but an active participant in a "twoperson" model of the world. Also, discussed are the changed viewpoints within psychoanalysis toward the analysis of the transference and the use of action techniques. …

189 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This study examined what parents of children with disabilities and special needs found helpful about belonging to mutual support groups and found such support was helpful in three broad domains: the sociopolitical, the interpersonal, and the intraindividual.
Abstract: This study examined what parents of children with disabilities and special needs found helpful about belonging to mutual support groups. Quantitative data (based on 56 parents from 6 groups) indicated that members found the groups very helpful and were very satisfied with the support they received from their groups; they also described the groups as high in cohesion, expressiveness, task orientation, and self-discovery. A grounded theory analysis of focus group data (based on 43 parents from 5 of the groups) indicated that such support was helpful in three broad domains: (1) the sociopolitical, which involved developing a sense of control and agency in the outside world; (2) the interpersonal, which involved a sense of belonging to a community; and (3) the intraindividual, which involved self change. A central theme of identity change emerged as superordinate to these three categories.

188 citations


Cites background from "The theory and practice of group ps..."

  • ...Cohesion, expressiveness, and self-discovery seemed to be the central dimensions that correspond to conceptual accounts of “curative factors” in mutual support and psychotherapy groups (e.g., Yalom, 1975 )....

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  • ...... and having friendships and social networks where they could share emotions and feel more “normal.” Parents’ accounts echoed the importance of “therapeutic” factors (e.g., catharsis, empathy, acceptance, universality, a psychological sense of community) that have long been recognized in the individual and group psychotherapy literature, as well as in the mutual support literature (e.g., Levine, 1988; Rappaport, 1993; Rogers, 1957; Yalom, ......

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