Group

Therapy
What is
Group
Therapy?
• Group Therapy is a treatment in which
carefully selected people who are
emotionally ill meet in a group guided by
a trained therapist, and help one another
effect personality change.

• This type of therapy is widely available at

a variety locations including private
therapeutic practices, hospitals, mental
health clinics and community centers.
History Of Group
Therapy
 History of Groups
• Originally found successful in treating
patients with TB in the early 1900’s
• Jacob L. Moreno introduced group
therapy in counseling in 1920.
• Later used during WW II for
treating those with emotional
reactions.
• In 1946 “T-groups”- emerged, individuals
come together to learn how to work in group
and to effect interpersonal change.
Encounter group- intended for “Normal
Functioning” who wanted to grow.
Marathon group- intensified encounter
group that meets for a long period of time.
(e.g. 8 hours or a whole weekend)
Goals of group
therapy
• Help Individuals
Identify Maladaptive
Behavior
• Help with Emotional
Difficulties through
Feedback
• Offer a Supportive
Environment
 Areas That May Particularly
Benefit From A Group
Therapy
• Addiction
• Anxiety
• Domestic Violence or abuse
• Depression
• Divorce
• Food and eating issues
• Grief and loss
Types of
group
 Psychoeducational/
Guidance group
• The purpose is to teach group participant how
to deal with a potential threat (catching the
flu), developmental life events (growing older)
or immediate life crisis (death of love one)
• Used in educational setting but frequently
used in hospital, mental health center, or
social service agencies.
Counseling/Interpersonal Problem-
Solving Groups
These groups help participants
resolve problems of living through
interpersonal support and problem
solving.
Psychotherapy Groups
• These groups focus on personality
reconstruction or remediation of
deep-seated psychological
problems.
 Task/work Groups
• A group that comes together to perform a
task that has a concrete goal (e.g.
community organizations, committees,
planning groups, task force).
Guidelines for group therapy
• Maintain Confidentiality
• Commitment to Attendance
• Socializing with Group Members
• Putting Feelings into Words Not
Actions.
• Role of Leader and Members
Yalom’s Therapeutic Factors
• Yalom (1995) defined therapeutic
factors as "the actual mechanisms of
effecting change in the patient“.

• Yalom identified 10 factors that

influence the processes of change and
recovery among group therapy
clients.
 10 Therapeutic Factors
1) Universality- feeling of having problems similar to
others, not alone
2) Altruism - helping and supporting others
3) Instillation of hope - encouragement that
recovery is possible
4) Guidance - nurturing support & assistance
5) Imparting information - teaching about problem
and recovery
6) Developing social skills - learning new ways to
talk about feelings, observations and concerns
 Cont…
7) Interpersonal learning - finding out about
themselves & others from the group
8) Cohesion - feeling of belonging to the group,
valuing the group
9) Existential factors – life & death are
realities
10) Imitative behavior – modeling another’s
manners & recovery skills
 Group Composition
Homogenous groups
Group composed of patients of the
same age, race, sex, socioeconomic
level and similar of illness.
 Group Composition
Heterogeneous groups
Group vary on different clients age, race,
sex, socioeconomic level and different
category of illness.
Concerns in Group Work
Group Size
Group counseling and
psychotherapy generally work best
with 6-8 members.
If group run as long as
6 months 10 people
can be included.
 Cont…
Length and Duration of Sessions
Group sessions range
from 1-2 hours.
 Cont…
Group structure
• open (allows members to enter and
leave the group as needed)
• closed (only the group members who
started at the beginning are in the group
at the end).
 Advantages
• You realize you’re not alone.
• Facilitates giving and receiving support.
• Helps you find your “voice.”
• Helps you relate to others (and yourself) in
healthier ways.
• Social Skills
• Learn From Others Mistakes
• Diversity of Opinions
 Disadvantages
• Limited Privacy
• Personality Clashing
• Loss of trust
• It strikes fear into some patients.
• It doesn’t guarantee confidentiality.
• Social Anxiety
 Conclusion
• Group therapy plays a major role in
rehabilitation of mentally ill client.
• It facilitates chance for therapist to
observe the clients emotional and
behavioral response towards variety of
people.
• Enhances clients communication,
decision making and assertive skill.