International Journal of Group Psychotherapy最新文献

Deaf and hard of hearing (D/HOH) individuals experience higher rates of mental health disorders and face significant barriers when accessing services, particularly in group therapy settings. This study investigates group therapists' perspectives on incorporating D/HOH clients into mixed-ability therapy groups predominantly composed of hearing individuals. Using a mixed-methods design, this study compares the experiences of therapists who have facilitated such groups with the perceptions of those who have not. Qualitative results highlight perceived barriers for therapists without experience working with D/HOH members, including concerns about group cohesion, communication challenges, and interpreter integration. Therapists with experience working with D/HOH members identified the benefits of mixed-ability groups, such as increased empathy, cultural learning, and strengthened group connections. These findings emphasize the need for expanded training, practical accommodations, and cultural competency development to ensure inclusive and effective group therapy for all.

The expansion and consolidation of group therapy in online settings has generated, and continues to generate, significant debate, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities of this transition. This study aims to explore the main themes and underlying latent dimensions of a psychodynamic group psychotherapy conducted online. Forty-two clinical reports from a group of nine patients who participated in the first nine months of online group therapy were analyzed using qualitative textual analysis with T-Lab software. The analysis was carried out in two phases to capture both differences and the longitudinal development of the therapeutic process, comparing T1 (the first four months of therapy) and T2 (months four through nine). Utilizing the Psychodynamic Analysis of Narratives for Multiple Interpretative Levels (PAMIL), the study identified key latent themes, including the formation of the therapeutic alliance, the development of group cohesion, and the processes of sharing and comparing emotional experiences. The qualitative analysis of clinical session reports proved to be an effective method for investigating the less explicit dimensions of group dynamics in the online setting. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the specific processes activated in virtual psychodynamic group therapy and underscore the value of narrative material as a tool for both clinical and research purposes.

Therapist-initiated termination of treatment for a child from a therapy group presents unique ethical and clinical dilemmas. While termination in group therapy has been widely discussed, the topic of forced termination remains underexplored. This paper expands and elaborates on this issue by addressing key challenges specific to working with younger populations, including therapist-patient-parent dynamics, boundary setting, physical contact, and developmental considerations. We examine the implications of therapist-initiated termination for the child and for other group members. A structured decision-making framework is proposed to assist therapists in evaluating the necessity of removal while minimizing potential harm. By integrating clinical and ethical considerations, this paper offers a refined perspective on the complexities of therapist-initiated termination in child and adolescent group therapy.

Though psychodynamic group psychotherapy, like all therapy approaches, espouses the use of specific interventions and distinct mechanisms of change, in general, it is unclear the extent to which different therapy orientations actually differ in practice. The goal of this study was to use Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC), a software for quantitative text analysis that counts words and calculates proportions of words from specific predefined categories, as a method for assessing in-session core characteristics of group psychodynamic psychotherapy for perfectionism. LIWC was used to assess the presence of the seven core characteristics found to be unique to individual psychodynamic psychotherapy in the group therapy context, and whether these core psychodynamic group characteristics, when assessed on the word level, predict week-to-week changes in group member-rated perfectionism-related emotional distress. Results suggest that group members' emotional distress increased in early sessions before decreasing in later sessions. Further, core psychodynamic in-session characteristics, including focusing on affect and emotions; identifying patterns in group members' actions, thoughts, feelings, experiences, and relationships; focusing on group members' interpersonal relationships; and focusing on group member-member or leader relationships, all predict less perfectionism-related emotional distress the following week.

This study aimed to identify subgroups of patients sharing similar outcome trajectories during group-based psychotherapy for chronic pain, to explore baseline predictors of trajectories, and to describe clinical outcomes as a function of these trajectories. Participants (n = 71) underwent eight weekly sessions of group psychotherapy for chronic pain at a tertiary care multidisciplinary pain treatment center. Pain outcomes, psychological distress, sleep, pain acceptance, and psychological inflexibility were assessed before, during, directly after, and 3 months after the intervention. Using growth mixture modeling, three to four trajectories were identified for pain-severity and psychological-flexibility symptoms during treatment; baseline levels of depression, pain severity, and psychological flexibility predicted trajectory membership. More research is needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying patients' variability in trajectories of symptom change across treatment.

Brief group-based psychological treatments are a common tool for increasing service access. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills groups have been used with several clinical populations to improve emotional regulation. This research aimed to examine the effectiveness of DBT-informed classes across four treatment settings in reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and emotional dysregulation, as well as examining participant factors associated with treatment responsiveness and class dropout. A total of 315 participants completed pre-post measures as a part of standard clinical care. Linear mixed model analyses showed that participants who completed DBT-informed classes experienced significant reductions in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and emotional dysregulation. Only an individual's baseline DSM-5 score significantly predicted responsiveness to treatment in terms of decreasing symptoms of anxiety, depression, and emotional dysregulation.

Social connectedness is a fundamental human need that is thwarted by chronic loneliness. The therapeutic application of role-playing games (TA-RPG) has the potential to promote social connection and flourishing by providing opportunities to work on mental health through immersive, collaborative storytelling. The purpose of this discussion is to describe the pilot implementation and evaluation of a TA-RPG group at VA medical center. Four group cycles were conducted over 18 months. Sixty-five percent of those who initiated the group completed treatment, attending an average of 11 out of 12 sessions. Qualitative analyses identified themes of perceived benefit and impactful group processes. Participants reported a high degree of satisfaction. These preliminary findings suggest that TA-RPGs may be a viable and engaging group therapy approach for fostering connection.

Within group psychotherapy, previous meta-analyses have shown that the client-therapist relationship (alliance) and group relationships (cohesion) both predict client improvement. Accounting for the inherent connection between alliance and cohesion, we meta-analyzed studies (k = 14) that individually measured alliance, cohesion, and an outcome among group therapy participants. A random-effects, two-stage structural equation model found that alliance (b = .12) and cohesion (b = .12) uniquely predicted outcome and were statistically indistinguishable. Findings replicate past meta-analyses. Alliance and cohesion are highly related, and both uniquely predict outcome. Minimal studies and large heterogeneity limit generalizability, but we encourage clinicians to foster all therapeutic relationships and we provide researchers with suggestions for future work.

This study aimed to explore leadership experiences under supervision and experiences of being a member in the same experiential training group of master's level counseling students. The study group comprised seven female students. The participants took part in the experiential training group, which consisted of eight face-to-face sessions. The data were collected through two focus groups. A semistructured interview form containing 10 questions was used to obtain the students' experiences. Content analysis yielded three themes-experiencing the group as a member, group leadership experiences, and supervision experience.

Interpersonal "mattering" refers to being visible, important, and needed by others, whereas "anti-mattering" describes feeling invisible, insignificant, and not needed. While mattering is a well-known concept in empirical psychology, it has received little attention in the group psychotherapy literature. By applying theory and techniques to case examples, this paper explores how group psychotherapy can increase one's sense of mattering using modern psychoanalytic principles. Mattering is also discussed as a critical element of group cohesion that can improve the group therapy process. By addressing developmental and societal deficits in mattering, group psychotherapy can improve each member's enduring sense of mattering to self and others, leading to positive mental health and social adjustment outcomes.