- Group Therapy primary purpose: The primary purpose of group therapy is to
facilitate changes by the patient to address identified problems. - A technique for dealing with an over talkative client and silence from other
participants in a group during therapy: make an observation about the group’s
silence and invite the others to comment - the technique of “Information Giver”.: During group members sharing methods they personally use for dealing with problems
- CBT: consists of active questioning, homework assignments, and dream survey.
The therapist helps the patient consider personal ideas and beliefs in order to
increase the patient’s realization about how thoughts influence behaviors. - Attachment: Attempts to explain the dynamics of interpersonal relationships
between humans. A child needs to form a relationship between at least one primary
caregiver. - Mileu: Milieu therapy requires consideration of the client’s social, economic, and
cultural status. - Complementary Alternative Medicine vs Western major difference: Western medicine focuses on what is done to the patient whereas CAM focuses on
mind-body interactions. - Beck: Beck developed the cognitive model of depression and the concept that
cognitive processing distortions underlie psychological disorders
ACTIVE, TIME-LIMITED APPROACH - depression can be understood via schemas:: Beck;
cognitive errors, and the cognitive triad (i.e., negative views of self, tendency
toward interpreting experiences in a negative manner, and holding negative views
of the future). - Beck assumption: Distorted thinking contributes to and maintains bheavior
(symptoms) - Ellis: RET (Rational Emotive Therapy) a form of cbt
- ret: unrealistic and irrational beliefs cause many emotional problems. The
purpose of RET is to identify an irrational belief and dispute it through active,
philosophical, confrontational therapy. - RET assumption: People make themselves sick anytime they escalate a
desire or preference into a demand or absolute must. (People become who they
become based on their beliefs).
- Skinner: operant conditioning
- Operant conditioning: voluntary behaviors are learned through consequences, and behavioral responses are elicited through reinforcement, which
causes a behavior to occur more frequently. Positive reinforcement- getting a gift,
or negative reinforcement- removal of objectionable’ or aversive stimulus - Skinner: Absence of reinforcement, or extinction, also decreases behavior by
withholding a reward that has become habitual. Teachers employ this strategy
in the classroom when they ignore acting-out behavior that had previously been
rewarded by more attention.
Skinner’s behavior model provides a concrete method for modifying or replacing
behaviors. Behavior management and modification programs based on his principles have shown to be successful in altering targeted behaviors. Programmed
learning and token economies represent extensions of Skinner’s thoughts on
learning. Behavioral methods are particularly effective with children, adolescents,
and individuals with many forms of chronic mental illness. - Universality: Yaslom: The recognition of shared experiences and feelings
among group members and that these may be widespread or universal human
concerns, serves to remove a group member’s sense of isolation, validate their
experiences, and raise self-esteem. - Altruism: Yaslom: The group is a place where members can help each other,
and the experience of being able to give something to another person can lift
the member’s self esteem and help develop more adaptive coping styles and
interpersonal skills. - Instillation of hope: Yaslom: In a mixed group that has members at various
stages of development or recovery, a member can be inspired and encouraged
by another member who has overcome the problems with which they are still
struggling. - Imparting information: Yaslom: While this is not strictly speaking a psychotherapeutic process, members often report that it has been very helpful to
learn factual information from other members in the group, for example, about their
treatment or about access to services. - Corrective recapitulation of primary family experience: Yaslom: Members
often unconsciously identify the group therapist and other group members with
their own parents and siblings in a process that is a form of transference specific
to group psychotherapy. The therapist’s interpretations can help group members
gain understanding of the impact of childhood experiences on their personality, an
they may learn to avoid unconsciously repeating unhelpful past interactive patterns
in present-day relationships.
- Development of socializing techniques: Yaslom: The group setting provides
a safe and supportive environment for members to take risks by extending their
repertoire of interpersonal behavior and improving their social skills. - Imitative behavior: Yaslom: One way in which group members can develop
social skills is through a modeling process, observing and imitating the therapist
and other group members. For example, sharing personal feelings, showing concern, and supporting others. - Cohesiveness: Yaslom: Is the primary therapeutic factor from which all others
flow. Humans are herd animals with an instinctive need to belong to groups, and
personal development can only take place in an interpersonal context. A cohesive
group is one in which all members feel a sense of belonging, acceptance, and
validation. - Existential factors: Yaslom: Learning that one has to take responsibility for
one’s own life and the consequences of one’s decisions - Catharsis: Yaslom: The experience of relief from emotional distress through
the free and uninhibited expression of emotion. When members tell their story to
a supportive audience, they can obtain relief from chronic feelings of shame and
guilt. We refer to catharsis as “getting things off our chest.” - Interpersonal learning: Yaslom: Group members achieve a greater level of
self-awareness through the process of interacting with others in the group, who
give feedback on the member’s behavior and impact on others - Self-understaning: Yaslom: This factor overlaps with interpersonal learning
but refers to the achievement of greater levels of insight into the genesis of one’s
problems and the unconscious motivations that underlie one’s behavior. - Autocratic leader: exerts control over the group and does not encourage
much interaction among members. For example, staff leading a community meeting with a fixed, time-limited agenda may tend to be more autocratic - Democratic leader: supports extensive group interaction in the process of
problem solving. Psychotherapy groups most often employ this leadership style - Laissez-faire leader: allows the group members to behave in any way they
choose and does not attempt to control the direction of the group. In a creative
group, such as an art group, the leader may choose this style of leadership, giving
minimal direction to allow for a variety of responses