Complex Dilemmas in Group Therapy: Pathways to Resolution

Group work often presents the therapist with many situations, considerations, and, ultimately, decisions that are unique to the practice of group psychotherapy. Until now, there has been little guidance available to either the inexperienced therapist or seasoned clinician in the existing literature that addresses these complex situations. "Complex Dilemmas in Group Therapy "is a collection of the work of over 25 experienced and respected group therapists, and is edited by two leading thinkers and practitioners in the field. The book owes a debt of inspiration to a regular article appearing in "The Group Circle, ""Consultation, Please, " in which a letter from a practicing group therapist is followed by the responses of two practitioners, each offering a 'solution' to the situation described. "Complex Dilemmas "will expand upon this well-received formula, grouping situations together into themes, examining underlying theory and discussing how ideas about the particular topic have changed over time. The book will be divided into seven sections, each covering a specific theme such as boundaries, enactments, projective identification, powerful therapist reactions, destructive forces in group, difficult patients, and time-limited groups. Each section will present three complex dilemmas, each of which will be followed by a response from two different clinicians. The dilemmas presented will range from common issues confronted to a more atypical dilemma, to an extreme example of a dilemma, appealing to group therapists of varying expertise.

Table of Contents:
Section I - Boundary Issues Overview Creating the Group Envelope, Barbara Cohn Dilemmas Sizing Up the Group, Steven Haut; Jeanne Pasternak Show Me the Money, Elaine Jean Cooper, Steven Krugman All for One and One for Some? David Hawkins, Victor Schermer Section II - Difficult Patients Overview Treating Difficult Patients in Group, J. Scott Rutan Dilemmas Angry Angela and Controlling Connie, Anne Alonso, Hillel Swiller All About Adam, Arnold Cohen, Elizabeth Shapiro Getting Our Affairs in Order, Earl Hopper, Suzanne Cohen Section III - Complex Defenses Overview Unraveling Projective Identification and Enactment, Robert Weber Dilemmas Axis II Had Me Spinning, Hylene Dublin, Kathleen Ulman Will the Real Expert Please Stand Up? Allan Gelber, Marsha Vannicelli Serial Scapegoating, David Altfeld, Bonnie Buchele Section IV - Destructive Forces Overview Destructive Forces in Group Therapy, Morris Nitsun Dilemmas Cuckoo Interrupted, Yvonne Agazarian, Walter Stone Does Anyone Want Group? Nina Fieldsteel, Anthony Joyce A Sinking Depression, Richard Billow, Jerome Gans Section V - Powerful Therapist Reactions Overview Containing and Using Powerful Therapist Reactions, Eleanor Counselman Dilemmas Legally Incompetent? Sally Barlow, Shawn Taylor, Macario Giraldo Fear and Loathing, Barry Helfmann, Robert Klein Tolerating the Intolerable, Allan Elfant, Harold Bernard Section VI - Self Disclosure Overview How Far Should I Go? Joel C. Frost Dilemmas Breaking Up the Family or the Fantasy? Sara Emerson, Gil Spielberg If I Did It, Why Can't You? Marti Kranzberg, Meg Sharpe Sharing At the Exit, Bernard Frankel, Brenda Smith Section VII- Time-Limited Group Therapy Overview Working With the Clock Ticking. Ted Powers Dilemmas Stand By Your Stance, Ramon Ganzarain, William Piper Manage My Stress Pamela Enders, Arthur Horne Containing Contagion, Helen Riess, Mark Sorensen Name Index Subject Index

About the Author :
Lise Motherwell, Ph.D., Psy.D. is Associate in Psychology at Massachusetts General Hospital, an Instructor at Harvard Medical School, and Director of the Dynamic Group Therapy Training Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. Joseph Shay, Ph.D., has been a Clinical Psychologist in the Harvard Medical School system for more than 25 years, and a practicing group therapist for over 30 years. He is the co-editor of the book, Odysseys in Psychotherapy.

Review :
"This gem of a volume captures quite uniquely the anxiety-arousing, morale-dashing challenges confronting the group therapist. Formatted as a kind of advice column for struggling therapists, the volume poses realistic and compelling scenarious that reguraly arise in this clinical enterprise." -- Les R. Greene, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 50, No. 46, Article 13