Harnessing the power of the group for latency-aged sexual abuse victims.

For children who have been sexually abused, group therapy is often a preferred treatment modality. Although much consideration has been given to what structured activities, goals, and objectives should be included in groups for sexually abused children, limited attention has been paid to the dynamics and processes inherent in the group. This article follows the dynamic unfolding of a short-term structured group for latency-aged, female sexual abuse victims. Special emphasis is placed on listening to the messages underlying children's actions and responding to the message rather than suppressing or limiting the behavior. It is argued that by attending to group dynamics and processes in a theme-focused group, structured activities become more effective and the power of the group can be harnessed to foster opportunities for healing that otherwise might go unrecognized.

From identified patient to identifiable group: the alchemy of the group as a whole.

Group-as-a-whole theory is a relational paradigm of some complexity. Despite the growing popularity of this perspective, there is abiding confusion about the essence of group-as-a-whole practice and whether the approach attends sufficiently to members and part processes. The threefold aims of this article are to (a) show how group-centered thinking differs essentially from traditional psychodynamic theory that relies heavily on familial dynamics, interpretation, and transference analysis; (b) present the mind-set and working principles for a generic treatment that specifically utilizes collective forces generated in the context of the group matrix; and (c) compare and contrast the thrust of recent dyadic relational therapies with group therapy generally and the group-as-a-whole approach more particularly. The relationship between the whole (group) and its parts (members and what they bring) is detailed and demonstrated as it appears in the context of fused, affiliated, fragmented, and differentiated groups.

Self-structure and self-transformation in group psychotherapy.

This article first outlines a theory of self-structure as a hierarchically organized multiplicity of versions of self. It then describes self-transformation as a two-part process: (Part 1) the articulation and strengthening of individual self-boundaries, and (Part 2) the reclaiming of split-off, denied, or projected aspects of self. Clinically, both parts are products of the communicative interaction among members, the therapist, and the group as a whole. A parallel conception of group development posits that the group, as an object and as a social system, also needs to: (a) articulate and strengthen its boundaries so that it may (b) contain the sustained interdependent, sometimes conflictual, interactivity among members that is essential to the self-reclaiming process.

The spirit of Jungian group psychotherapy: from taboo to totem.

Practitioners of analytical psychology were late in coming to the practice of group psychotherapy because Carl Jung effectively forbade the treatment of individuals in stranger groups. This article explores Jung's objections to group therapy and, by way of a conceptual review of the literature, expands on the practice that grew up proximate to his death. It is argued that Jungian theory is especially conducive to collective treatment because it is concerned with the relationship between oppositions (whether in persons or between people) and uses synthetic and symbolic processes to bring about an integration of the one with the many. For Jungians who espouse a theory of symbolic transformation, archetype, and myth, the group is embodied in individuals and can be accessed by working with individuals in groups.

Symbolic representation and the components of a group-as-a-whole model.

As participants engage in the group psychotherapy process, they often generate figurative forms (i.e., metaphoric images) representative of their experiences together. Metaphors function as symbols when they depict important information about the group-as-a-whole, as well as about the individuals that comprise it. Symbols are cultural phenomena that express, contain, and transform the group process. This article presents a model of how metaphoric and symbolic images arise spontaneously as organizational phenomena and how they might be elaborated therapeutically. A bridge is made between individualistic and group-as-a-whole perspectives on the group process by demonstrating how members come together through the evolution of shaping circumstances, bipolar themes, talking points, particularizations of experience, and organizing images.

"Come on, Jack, tell us about yourself": the growth spurt of group psychotherapy.

Group psychotherapy evidenced a growth spurt in the decade of the 1930s and prior to World War II. Following upon the pioneering efforts of the psychoeducators (Pratt, Marsh, Lazell) and the writings of the early analysts (Freud, Adler, Dreikurs, Burrow), the next wave of practitioners and theorizers popularized and expounded the use of the group treatment modality in hospitals, clinics, and private practice. A review of the seminal ideas and efforts of Jacob Moreno, Louis Wender, Paul Schilder, Lauretta Bender, Alexander Wolf, and Samuel Slavson continues the historical overview begun earlier in this journal (Ettin, 1988). In a continuing effort to call up the wisdom of the past in the service of the work of the present, the emphasis in this paper will be on practical application. Representative quotes will be embedded in the text to capture the tenor of the times, and special attention will be given to (1) theoretical underpinnings such as the proposed advantages, curative variables, and therapy goals of a group treatment; (2) the basic logistics of practice, including optimum group size, composition, membership and exclusion criteria, and length, frequency, and structure of the meetings; and (3) technical considerations, such as the role of the therapist and the techniques, procedures, and processes of the ongoing group endeavor, as well as the interface between individual and group sessions. In conclusion, it will be argued that group psychotherapy matured just in time to respond to the pressing need for efficient mental treatment mandated by the coming of the Second World War.