Windows into Today's Group Therapy: The National Group Psychotherapy Institute of the Washington School of Psychiatry

The Washington School of Psychiatry in Washington, D.C. has long been on the leading-edge of theoretical changes in psychotherapy, having offered a certification program in group psychotherapy, The Group Psychotherapy Training Program since the mid-1960's. This program trained a generation of skilled group psychotherapists and formed a model for comprehensive group training. In 1994 the National Group Psychotherapy Institute emerged from this program. With an emphasis on experiential and didactic learning, the Institute continues the tradition of challenging the frontiers of psychodynamic group psychotherapy. This volume is a collection of papers by the Institute members and reflects the mission and recent research and developments of the Institute. Originally delivered by faculty members and visiting presenters at the Washington School of Psychiatry, they represent the various vertices from which modern group psychotherapy can be studied. Organized according to theoretical position, the volume contains work by the top group theorists and clinicians in the field. Windows into Today's Group Therapy would provide both an important historical perspective on group therapy as a response to managed care as well as a timely collection of the leading research in the field today.

Table of Contents:
Introduction. Editor’s Introduction. Overview and Underpinnings. Systems Centered Approaches. Editor’s Introduction. Introduction to a Theory of Living Human Systems and Systems Centered Practice. National Group Psychotherapy Institute Faculty Respond: Some Comments on the Similarities and Contrasts Between Dr. Agazarian’s Systems Centered Therapy and Dr Aledort’s Therapist Centered Group Psychoanalysis. Panel Discussion of Dr Agazarian’s Presentation of Systems-centered Group Therapy. Group Analysis and the Study of Maturity. On Identity as Multiple and Basic Assumption. Containment and the Threat of Catastrophic Change in Psychotherapy Groups. Object Relational and Lacanian Approaches. Editor’s Introduction. Group Analysis and Intimacy. The Group-as-a-Whole Approach in Foulkesian Group Analytic Psychotherapy. Chaos and Desire: The Simple Truth of the Unconscious in the Psychoanalytic Group. Object Relations and Group Psychotherapy. Interpersonal Approaches. Editor’s Introduction. Interpersonal Group Psychotherapy. Andrews-Sachs, Anxiety, Courage, and Healing. The Interpersonal Approach to Group Psychotherapy. Existential Group Psychotherapy. Editor’s Introduction. Saiger, Some Thoughts on the Existential Lens in Group Psychotherapy. Dr. Mullan Responds. Psychoanalytic Approaches. Editor’s Introduction. Theories Are Ideas. A Model for the Development of an Analytic Culture in Intensive Multi-weekly Group Psychoanalysis. The Dream in Analytic Group Therapy. Self Psychology in Group Psychotherapy. Editor’s Introduction. A Brief Introduction to Self Psychology. Beyond the Dyad: An Evolving Theory of Group Psychotherapy. Toward Optimum Group Placement from the Perspective of the Self or Self-experience. Anger in Group Therapy: A Self Psychological Approach. Working with Intersubjectivity. Conclusion. Researchers, Third Party Payors and the Singular Group Therapist.

About the Author :
George Saiger, M.D. is Chair of the Center for Study of Psychotherapies for the Aging, Washington School of Psychiatry. He is a Fellow, chair of the Psychiatry Special Interest Group, and former member of the board of directors of the American Group Psychotherapy Association. Sy Rubenfeld, Ph.D. was Founding Director of the National Group Psychotherapy Institute at the Washington School of Psychiatry. He is a recipient of the American Group Psychotherapy Association’s Alonzo Award and is in private practice. Mary Dluhy, M.S.W. is President Emerita and Founder of the Clinical Social Work Institute of Washington, D.C., and former Director of the National Group Psychotherapy Institute Training Program at the Washington School of Psychiatry. She is Co-Chair of the Institute Committee of American Group Psychotherapy Association and is in private practice.    

Review :
Lise Motherwell, Psy.D., Complex Dilemmas in Group Psychotherapy: "This book proposal is well organized and would be a useful secondary text for those interested in teaching group therapy or learning about group therapy. The articles range from basic concepts to more complex ideas—so the book would be good for both early career and senior clinicians who are interested in how conceptions of group therapy have changed in the past decade…More significant is the historical importance of the book proposal. The Washington School of Psychiatry has been on the leading edge of theoretical changes in psychotherapy in general, and this edited book puts the National Group Therapy Institute in a historical perspective (as a response to managed care) and give group therapy an important place as a therapeutic modality. It is both on the cutting edge theoretically, and a compilation of seminal articles on psychodynamic group therapy concepts, and important addition to the literature on group psychotherapy. All three authors who have contributed to the introduction have written clear, interesting, and relevant pieces with regard to the training at the Washington School of Psychiatry….I recommend this book for publication, because it compiles both published and unpublished articles by prominent therapists in the field and emphasizes the importance of dialectical approaches to the teaching and learning of group therapy. It is different from other texts in that it is organized by theory rather than by specific issues in group therapy. It emphasizes the current thinking in group therapy (esp. on systems centered and relational therapies), and how to teach and learn from students."