Group therapy

1. Group Therapy
By
Muhammad Musawar Ali
MPHIL, ICAP

2. What is group
therapy?

3. • Group psychotherapy is a treatment of
psychological problem in which two or
more patients/client interact with each
other on both an emotional & cognitive
levels in the presences of one or more
psychotherapists who serve as catalysts
(the person who can be related to or who
can understand the other’s point of view),
facilitators or interpreters.

4. History Of Group
Therapy

5. 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

6. • In 1946 “T-groups” emerged, to enhances
interpersonal relationship. It was the beginning
of modern group work.
• Encounter group- intended for “Normal
Functioning” who wanted to grow.
• Marathon group- breakdown barriers that
individuals use.
• The 1960 human potential movement
“Founded on the belief that the most people
only use a small percentage of their capability
but that within a group experiences, they can
recognize their full potential”.

7. Goals of group
therapy

8. • Help Individuals
Identify Maladaptive
Behavior
• Help with Emotional
Difficulties through
Feedback
• Offer a Supportive
Environment

9. Types of
group

10. 1. Psychoeducational/ Guidance group
2. Counseling/Interpersonal Problem-
Solving Groups
3. Psychotherapy Groups
4. Task/work Groups

11. 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.

12. Counseling/Interpersonal Problem-
Solving Groups
These groups help participants
resolve problems of living through
interpersonal support and problem
solving.

13. Psychotherapy Groups
• These groups focus on personality
reconstruction or remediation of
deep-seated psychological
problems.

14. 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).

15. Stages of group
development

16. Stages Of Group Development

17. How we conduct
group therapy?

18. Guidelines for group therapy
• Maintain Confidentiality
• Commitment to Attendance.
• Socializing with Group Members
• Putting Feelings into Words Not
Actions.
• Role of Leader and Members

19. Yalom’s Therapeutic Factors
• Yalom (1995) defined therapeutic
factors as "the actual mechanisms of
effecting change in the patient“.
• Yalom identified 11 factors that
influence the processes of change and
recovery among group therapy clients.

20. 11 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

21. Cont…
7) Interpersonal learning - finding out about
themselves & others from the group
8) Cohesion - feeling of belonging to the group,
valuing the group
9) Catharsis – release of emotional tension
10) Existential factors – life & death are realities
11) Imitative behavior – modeling another’s
manners & recovery skills

22. Group Composition
Homogenous groups
Group composed of patients of the
same age, race, sex, socioeconomic
level and similar of illness.

23. Group Composition
Heterogeneous groups
Group vary on different clients age, race,
sex, socioeconomic level and different
category of illness.

24. Saima Noreen (08)
M.Phil Clinical Psychology

25. 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.

26. Cont…
Length and Duration of Sessions
Group sessions range
from 1-2 hours.

27. 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).

28. Purposes of therapist intervention
• To help build an atmosphere of trust and safety.
• To enforce rules and norms.
• To provide feedback.
• To get a member’s input, reaction or feedback.
• To draw connections between members or point out themes.
• To correct irrational or faulty thinking.
• To empower participants.
• To offer support when needed.
• To reinforce helpful contributions.
• To encourage constructive risk taking
.

29. Functions of group therapy
• Sharing experiences
• Support to & from group member
• Socialization
• Imitation
• International learning

30. Sharing experiences
• This help the client to realize that they
are not isolated & that other also have
similar experience & problem
• Hearing from other client that they
shared experiences is often more
convincing & helpful then reassurance
from the therapist.

31. Support to & from group
member
• The sharing action of being mutually
supportive is an aspect of the group
cohesiveness that can provide a sense of
belonging for client feeling who feel
isolated in their everyday lives.

32. Socialization
• It is acquisition of social skill (E.g.
maintaining eye contact) with in a
group through comments that member
about one another deficiencies in
social skills.
• This process can be helped by trying
out new ways of interacting within the
safety of the group.

33. Imitation
• It is learning from observing &
adopting the behaviors of other group
members.
• If the group is run well, client imitate
the adaptive behaviors of other group
members.

34. International learning
It refers to learning about difficulties in
relationships by examining the interaction
of individuals with the other members of
group.

35. Techniques of group
therapy

36. Roles of Therapist
• An advisor
• An advocate
• A facilitator
• A social policeman
• A technician
• An enabler

37. Techniques of group therapy
Cognitive therapy
Focus on irrational thoughts and
beliefs of members and restructuring
perceptions and beliefs by substitution
of new effective thoughts and beliefs.

38. Cont…
Behavioral therapy
Behavior is learned so ineffective
behavior can be unlearned and
replaced by effective behavior.

39. Cont…
Role play
One member of the group can portray
someone in another group member's life
to give the other member a chance at
practicing how to communicate
effectively.

40. Cont…
Story Writing and Sharing
Members write a story about themselves
and their lives and then read it aloud for
the group to hear and discuss.

41. Cont…
• Task oriented groups
To develop social skills ,interacting in a
group home.
• Therapeutic activity groups
Wide array of art, music, dance,
psychodrama and many other
techniques having a defined therapeutic
goal.

42. Areas That May Particularly
Benefit From A Group
Therapy
• Addiction
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

43. Benefits of having co-therapists
• More expertise.
• Allows for division of labor (e.g. one leader
can concentrate on content and the other
leader can look at process variables).
• Group members receive more individual
attention.
• Two leaders can model communication and
conflict resolution.
• Two leaders provide diversity in theoretical
orientation, interpersonal style, and cultural
resources.

44. Limitations/dangers of co-therapists
• If two leaders do not get along, it can be detrimental
and even harmful to group
• Co-leaders might develop competition between
themselves and this too is not good for the group
• If co-leaders have different skill levels, one might try to
lead the other. This can lead to coalitions with other
group members or even in the marginalization of the
more inexperienced leader
• Group members might feel ganged up on if both
leaders become adamant in getting across a
therapeutic message

45. 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
• It costs less

46. Disadvantages
• Limited Privacy
• Personality Clashing
• Loss of trust
• It strikes fear into some patients.
• It doesn’t guarantee confidentiality.
• Social Anxiety
• Mourning A Loss

47. Conclusion
• Group therapy plays a major role in
rehabilitation of mentally ill client.
• It gives an opportunity for immediate
feedback.
• 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.