International Journal of Group Psychotherapy最新文献

Survivors Healing from Abuse: Recovery through Exposure (SHARE) is an eight-week therapy group for incarcerated women who have experienced sexual violence victimization. SHARE requires each member to complete an imaginal exposure and to listen when others share their experiences of victimization. While trauma-focused group interventions including SHARE are associated with reductions in internalizing symptoms, little work has examined how group characteristics predict symptom decreases. The purpose of this study was to examine whether group size was associated with symptom changes pre- to post-treatment. Participants (n=140 across 29 groups) completed self-report measures of posttraumatic stress symptoms before and after completing SHARE. Multilevel modeling revealed the majority of the variance in post-treatment symptoms was attributed to individual factors rather than group factors. Symptom change was comparable for groups of two to eight women; declines in symptom improvement were observed at a group size of ten participants.

In an era of increasing demands on college counseling centers (CCs), many CCs appoint a group coordinator (GC) to oversee the implementation of a group therapy program. It is common knowledge in the field that this role is essential to develop and maintain a thriving group program, yet little information is available to understand best practices. An exploratory survey of GCs in CCs was conducted to understand the descriptive features of those occupying the role as well as typical responsibilities, resources, and job satisfaction. We analyzed responses from 53 GCs in the US and Canada. Generally, GCs reported managing a wide range of responsibilities and having limited resources (administrative time, reduced caseload) and inconsistent CC staff practices (group training, weekly group meeting). On average, GCs reported moderate satisfaction with their role and resources and high satisfaction with CC leadership. Correlations were found between positive CC culture toward group and staff involvement, groups per semester, GC responsibilities, group program structures, and GC role satisfaction. Rates of group utilization were significantly higher for GCs with two or more administrative hours and for CCs that held a weekly meeting about groups. Staff group involvement, representing strength of CC culture toward group, was significantly higher if the GC held an administrative role. The article concludes with recommendations for best practices for the GC role and directions for future research.

In 2020, telehealth and online (video) group therapy became the norm for almost all group psychotherapists due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is likely that even after the pandemic many group therapists will continue to practice online, as some group therapists, like online group therapy expert Haim Weinberg, have been doing for years (Weinberg & Rolnick, 2019). While the transition to online group therapy was new for many group therapists, online continuing education related to group therapy may not have been. Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of continuing education in group therapy was conducted online. During the pandemic, the availability of online training became especially important as this allowed for the ongoing professional education of group therapists and graduate students trainees. Certainly, 2020 saw an increase in online learning opportunities, including through the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA) yearly conference, which was, for the first time, entirely online.

Breast cancer is a life-altering stressor requiring patients to use a variety of psychosocial strategies to cope. Patients employing maladaptive cognitive coping strategies are likely to experience detrimental effects in their lives. Studies of group psychoeducation (GPE) interventions and its effects on positive and negative cognitive emotion regulation are scarce, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as Nigeria. The present study investigated the effect of  eight weeks of a GPE intervention on cognitive emotion regulation (CER) among a single group of Nigerian women with breast cancer. Twenty-eight women with breast cancer were randomly allocated to one of two conditions: a treatment group (TG, N = 15) and a control condition (CC, N = 13). The TG received  eight weeks of GPE sessions, which included a 90-minute session per week, while the control condition (CC) included only a psychoeducational pamphlet. Assessments were carried out at baseline, posttreatment and 2-month follow-up with measures of CER Questionnaires. Data were analyzed using an independent sampled t test and chi square. The effect size was estimated with standard mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval. The results showed that TG participants had a significant improvement in adaptive CER (acceptance and positive reappraisal) in posttest and at 2-month follow-up compared to CC. Participants in TG also showed a significant decrease in maladaptive CER (self-blame, rumination and catastrophizing) relative to CC at posttest and 2-month follow-up. Group psychoeducation is an effective psychosocial treatment for better CER management of breast cancer. Group psychoeducation may be integrated as an adjunct therapy in the management of cancer patients, especially in Nigeria oncology, to improve the quality of life of patients and increase their survival rate.

This paper presents a description of a multigroup-based psychotherapy program for Turkish-speaking individuals provided by an innovative primary care mental health service in London. As of 2021, the project offers two types of therapy: a year-long horticultural group, which is a blend between talking therapy and gardening, and a 20-week psychotherapy group. Both were designed to engage the particularly complex Turkish-speaking patient population in the London Borough of Hackney. The project is grounded in group psychotherapy and borrows elements from different theoretical orientations and therapeutic modalities including community psychology, group analytic therapy, horticultural therapy, attachment theory, and dynamic therapies. Here, we present how the program was created and developed and the specifics of the groups, together with the main themes and dynamics that emerged in the therapeutic process. The program evaluation and outcomes are illustrated by several clinical case vignettes throughout the paper.