Filling a significant gap in the clinical literature, this unusually practical manual addresses the nuts-and-bolts issues involved in conducting group therapy. Featuring contributions from leading experts in the field, the volume covers everything from determining which patients will benefit from a group experience to step-by-step instructions for running group sessions as effectively as possible. A hands-on manual, the volume is also an ideal companion to a basic text on group psychotherapy.
Organized in a unique, logical sequence, the chapters begin with an explanation of how to select patients for a particular group intervention and how groups are composed. The different stages of group interaction over time are then covered in detail, as are the changing aspects of the therapist's role during the various stages. Setting forth basic principles of group technique--including the management of resistance, transference, primitive group dynamics, and countertransference--a clear distinction is drawn between the roles of therapists conducting group treatment and therapists working in other treatment modalities.