Definition
Group therapy (or group counseling) is a form of psychotherapeutic intervention characterized by a group format (i.e., several patients meeting with a therapist together).
Historical Background
Though nonclinical forerunners of group psychological interventions, such as mass religious or political movements, have taken place for millennia, it is believed that the first therapeutic groups conducted by physicians occurred in the early twentieth century (Rosenbaum and Patterson 1995). Joseph Pratt is recognized for having initiated therapy groups as early as 1905. Pratt led “thought control classes,” inspirational lectures, and group discussions with hospitalized tuberculosis patients, in Boston, Massachusetts (Barlow et al. 2005). Pratt sought to increase adherence with medical regimens in his patients but also found that his group meetings resulted in strengthened hope for recovery and lifting of morale. Around the same time, J. L. Moreno was beginning the development of...
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References and Readings
American Group Psychotherapy Association. (2007). Practice guidelines for group psychotherapy. www.agpa.org
Ballinger, B., & Yalom, I. D. (1995). Group therapy in practice. In B. Bongar & L. E. Beutler (Eds.), Comprehensive textbook of psychotherapy: Theory and practice (pp. 189–204). New York: Oxford.
Barlow, S. H. (2008). Group psychotherapy specialty practice. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 39 (2), 240–244.
Barlow, S. H., Burlingame, G. M., & Fuhriman, A. J. (2005). The history of group practice: A century of knowledge. In S. A. Wheelan (Ed.), The handbook of group research and practice (pp. 39–64). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Blackmore, C., Tantam, D., Parry, G., & Chambers, E. (2012). Report on a systematic review of the efficacy and clinical effectiveness of group analysis and analytic/dynamic group psychotherapy. Group Analysis, 45 (1), 46–69.
Brabender, V. (2011). Group psychotherapies. In S. B. Messer & A. S. Gurman (Eds.), Essential psychotherapies (pp. 460–493). New York: Guilford Press.
Budman, S. H., Demby, A., Feldstein, M., Redondo, J., Scherz, B., Bennett, M. J., Koppenaal, G., Sabin Daley, B., Hunter, M., & Ellis, J. (1987). Preliminary findings on a new instrument to measure cohesion in group psychotherapy. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 37, 75–94.
Burlingame, G. M., Kircher, J. C., & Taylor, S. (1994). Methodological considerations in group psychotherapy research: Past, present, and future practices. In A. J. Fuhriman & G. M. Burlingame (Eds.), Handbook of group psychotherapy (pp. 41–80). New York: Wiley.
Burlingame, G. M., Fuhriman, A. J., & Mosier, J. (2003). The differential effectiveness of group psychotherapy: A meta-analytic perspective. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 7 (1), 3–12.
Burlingame, G. M., Kapetanovic, S., & Ross, S. (2005). Group psychotherapy. In S. A. Wheelan (Ed.), The handbook of group research and practice (pp. 387–406). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Carter, E. F., Mitchell, S. L., & Krautheim, M. D. (2001). Understanding and addressing clients’ resistance to group counseling. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 26 (1), 66–80.
Champion, A. J. (2006). Neuropsychological rehabilitation: A resource for group-based education and intervention. Chichester: Wiley.
Fuhriman, A. J., & Burlingame, G. M. (1994). Group psychotherapy: Research and practice. In A. J. Fuhriman & G. M. Burlingame (Eds.), Handbook of group psychotherapy (pp. 3–40). New York: Wiley.
Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. New York: Guilford Press.
Orfanos, S., Banks, C., & Priebe, S. (2015). Are group psychotherapeutic treatments effective for patients with schizophrenia? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 84 (4), 241–249.
Parcover, J. A., Dunton, E. C., Gehlert, K. M., & Mitchell, S. L. (2006). Getting the most from group counseling in college counseling centers. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 31 (1), 37–49.
Rosenbaum, M., & Patterson, K. M. (1995). Group psychotherapy in historical perspective. In B. Bongar & L. E. Beutler (Eds.), Comprehensive textbook of psychotherapy: Theory and practice (pp. 173–188). New York: Oxford University Press.
Schechtman, Z. (2007). Group counseling and psychotherapy with children and adolescents: Theory, research, and practice. Mahwah: L. Erlbaum Associates.
Yalom, I. D., & Leszcz, M. (2005). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books.
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Kuentzel, J.G., Hodges, E.K. (2016). Group Therapy. In: Kreutzer, J., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_401-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_401-3
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