Foundations and Applications of Group Psychotherapy: A Sphere of Influence(International Library of Group Analysis)

The author focuses on how to provide effective individual treatment within psychoeducational and psychotherapeutic groups, and examines the structural properties of such groups as organizational entities in their own right. The book is divided into two main parts, covering foundations and applications. The former looks at the history and epistemology of the grouping process, considering both practical and philosophical questions. The latter looks at specific psychoeducational and psychotherapeutic uses of the group medium, from which the reader can expect to gain both an in-depth understanding of the human grouping process and a practical knowledge of how to organize, facilitate, and manage collective treatment regimens. The final chapter of the book considers the logistics of small-group participation and the mythic roots of small-group culture. Although each chapter can be read as a discrete unit, they are linked and sequenced by recurrent motifs, consistent structural analyses, and a generalized perspective about collective dynamics.

Table of Contents:
Introduction. 1. The Logos of Small-Group Participation: Structural Guidelines and Organizational Formats. PART TWO. Foundations: History. 2. Sitting in on Socrates Walking Groups. 3. The Invention of Modern Group Treatment at the Turn of the Twentieth Century. 4. The Growth Spurt of Group Psychotherapy: Innovation Prior to World War II. PART THREE. Foundations: Epistemology. 5. A Group is a Group is a Group? Building a Collective Experience Through Inductive Processes. 6. The Epistemology of the Group-as-a-Whole: Relying on Deduction to Render the Group Intelligible. 7. The Art of Depiction: Finding Meaning in the Collective Process. PART FOUR. Applications: Psychoeducation. 8. Myth, Metaphor, and Miracle in the Moment of Making: Leadship and Residence in Unstructured Process Groups. 9. Managing Group Process in Nonprocess Groups: Working with Structured Theme-Centred Tasks. 10. Group Development: Building Protocols for Psychoeducational Groups. PART FIVE. Applications: Psychotherapy. 11. Sphere of Influence: Holding Together in Remote Groups.12. Group Analysis: A Causal Paradigm for Working Through Impasse. 13. The Group as a Cultural Phenomenon: Transforming Experience Through Collective Imagery. PART SIX. Conclusion. 14. The Mythos of Small-Group Culture: Object Relations and Primitive Processes. 15. The Evolution of the Human Collective: A Myth for Modern Times. References. Name Index. Subject Index.

About the Author :
Mark F Ettin is a clinical psychologist, certified group psychotherapist and Adjunct Medical School Professor and private practitioner. He is the inaugural recipient (1996) of the American Group Psychotherapy Foundation's award for excellence in psychodynamic group theory.