Into the Wild: Working with Preverbal Experiences in a GroupPrice, Jordan
doi: 10.1080/00207284.2017.1338522pmid: 38475622
This article begins with a metaphor of being in the wilderness at night to demonstrate the group analyst’s reliance on implicit experiences. The entrenched patterns of group members are rooted in a developmental phase before words and symbolization are available to manage distress. These group members enact in the here-and-now a relational dysfunction fixed in early attachment patterns. The defenses they induce resist interpretation and traditional analysis. The group analyst must be willing to sink into these non-verbal affective states expressed unconsciously yet communicated and to work with the member on an emotional, non-interpretative level. A brief review of affect regulation theory, attachment theory, and infant studies supports this treatment approach. Two vignettes follow to illustrate the nature of working in this visceral and intuitive manner while maintaining an observing ego.
Adapting Group Therapy to Address Real World Problems: Insights from Groups Offered in the BahamasAbernethy, Alexis D.; Allen, David F.; Carroll, Marie Allen
doi: 10.1080/00207284.2017.1335582pmid: 38475604
This article presents a cultural adaptation of a group therapeutic approach that is being offered in the Bahamas. “The Family: People Helping People” project was designed as an intervention to improve socialization in New Providence, the Bahamian capital and its most heavily populated city. “The Family” group model offers support and training to improve communication in relationships and to encourage constructive emotional expression. This article will provide an overview of “The Family,” address key elements of this approach that are culturally tailored, and offer clinical examples and note implications for group therapy training. This cultural adaptation offers helpful insights for addressing community problems, such as violence and societal fragmentation, and may inform the development of community-based group interventions in other settings.
Validation of the URICA-S in Group Therapy: Associations of Stages of Change with Therapeutic Factors and Treatment OutcomeMander, Johannes; Vogel, Eva; Blanck, Paul; Bents, Hinrich
doi: 10.1080/00207284.2017.1335583pmid: 38475624
Stages of change could be driving forces to activate the realization of therapeutic factors and symptom change. Consequently, the aims of the present study were to investigate whether the stages of change concept is valid in group therapy settings shown by factor analysis, internal consistencies, and criterion validity. A total of 377 patients completed measures of stages of change, symptom change, and therapeutic factors. A confirmatory factor analysis replicated the stages of change factors for group therapy. Related to the criterion validity, stages of change demonstrated only low, non-significant associations with symptom change, but some stages of change were significant predictors of certain therapeutic factors. Further research is needed to explore whether a stronger focus on motivational stages of change could help to intensify the realization of therapeutic factors in group therapy.
The Potential Role for Group Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Internalized Homophobia in Gay MenHeilman, David
doi: 10.1080/00207284.2017.1315585pmid: 38475608
In order to develop a healthy sense of self, gay males must developmentally move beyond feelings of self-hatred concerning their homosexuality and conquer feelings of internalized homophobia. The struggle with internalized homophobia occurs throughout the lifespan and is detrimental to the physical and mental health of gay men. In order to spur the creation of interventions, a literature review was conducted to show how group psychotherapy could be of service in ameliorating the root causes of shame central to internalized homophobia. While the literature focused on the importance to gay men of feeling a sense of belonging within the gay community—a concept similar to group cohesion—as central to creating affective interventions, group psychotherapy has yet to be sufficiently explored quantitatively in the treatment of internalized homophobia.
Development and Initial Validation of the Assessment of Motivational Interviewing Groups – Observer Scales (AMIGOS)Wagner, Christopher C.; Ingersoll, Karen S.
doi: 10.1080/00207284.2017.1315587pmid: 38475618
This article documents the development and initial validation of a global observer instrument, the Assessment of Motivational Interviewing Groups – Observer Scales (AMIGOS). The AMIGOS includes three scales composed of 18 items documenting group processes, client-centered style, and motivational interviewing (MI) change focus. Three experienced coders independently rated 18 sessions of various group approaches. The AMIGOS showed high inter-rater intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach’s alpha, strong convergent and discriminant validity with the MI Treatment Integrity scales (MITI), the Therapist Empathy Scale (TES), and the Group Climate Questionnaire (GCQ). The AMIGOS shows promise as a reliable and valid measure of MI group leadership and group processes, and could be useful measuring other group therapies as well.