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(1) What is the history and the theoretical orientation of group therapy in Spain? (2) How is training organized? (3) What role does group psychotherapy play in the health system in Spain? (4) What is the relationship between group psychotherapy research and clinical practice in Spain? (5) What topics can be identified as unique to therapy groups in Spain? (6) How are group-related issues important within the social background of Spain? and (7) What does group work hold for the future? Although not even a century has passed since the birth of this discipline, there have already been many events associated with the management of power and knowledge, the development of a sense of community, and the evolution of the political and social life of our country. Group therapy training is still evolving and is properly supported and accredited by prestigious institutions. In the 2013 Symposium of the Spanish Society of Group Psychotherapy and Group Techniques (SEPTG), the need for joint group theories and techniques within the profession's activities was clearly highlighted. Further, the enthusiasm of group psychotherapists to open themselves to specific social perspectives (health, education, community prevention, organizations) is a way of encouraging society to untangle conscious and unconscious knots that are created in social interaction.

Service dogs are sanctioned by the Americans with Disabilities Act as having protected rights allowing them to assist owners with disabilities. These dogs are appearing with increasing frequency in healthcare settings, and it is important for healthcare providers to understand the rules and regulations given to service animals and owners. We discuss processes that transpired when a service dog was brought into a psychodynamic psychotherapy group. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the unintended consequences of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 2010 as it concerns service dogs and the impact on the group process. Problems resulting from the introduction of service dogs into therapy groups should be anticipated and explicitly discussed in the course of the group's transactions.

Empathy has consistently been identified as an important quality of psychotherapists. Understanding unique ways that empathy emerges in group therapy may assist group therapists in fostering empathy. Rogerian and selected psychodynamic and interpersonal perspectives on empathy are discussed. Group psychotherapy poses a challenge for empathic responding, but also a rich opportunity for utilizing a more varied embodied approach to empathy.

This paper provides a guide for supervisors in inpatient and partial hospital settings who train beginning group therapists in a variety of group modalities. It addresses basic issues facing the neophyte therapist, including structural aspects of the group, problematic member behaviors, and useful interventions that maximize member engagement and increase overall therapeutic effectiveness.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most widespread mental illness resulting from exposure to combat, necessitating an increase in the provision of group therapy. This pilot study examined the efficacy of, and treatment outcome predictors associated with, group inpatient treatment of combat-related PTSD. Participants included 38 active duty military personnel deployed during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), diagnosed with PTSD, and consecutive admissions to an inpatient PTSD treatment facility. A paired samples t-test revealed significant change in symptom severity and global functioning between pre- and post-treatment. Multiple regression analyses supported the predictive utility of baseline symptomatology and group cohesion (> 50% of the variance in treatment outcome), highlighting the importance of group cohesion in the efficacy of group treatment for combat-related PTSD.

Group therapists are in a unique position to be effective as change consultants to medical practices and hospital departments that wish to transition to patientcentered care (PCC) and patient- and family-centered care (PFCC). Medical groups are under increasing pressure to adopt PCC because it has been shown to be an important component of substantial improvements in health care delivery, including cost containment. The establishment of patient-centered care requires sensitive, repeated group-based interventions to be successful; group therapists have a deep understanding of such interventions. The paper outlines the literature on PCC and PFCC, considers the group processes underlying successful implementation, and then turns to various phases of the consulting process itself, including system-diagnostic interviewing, group meetings, resources, and tracking the consequences of the consultation.

Inveiglement is a mode of interpersonal influence and control that has particular relevance to group, organizational, and political life. In inveiglement, a person or group is diverted from knowing, believing, or thinking about an idea or a perception that exists mentally, or that could be generated. In the former situation, inveiglement may be conceived of as induced dissociation; in the latter, an impingement on the capacity to think and generate thoughts. In both situations, the individual or group becomes mentally bound by the parameters imposed by the other, constricting freedom to think and behave independently. I describe four subtypes: toxic, neurotic, communal, and presentational inveiglement, and provide clinical illustrations from group psychotherapy.

This review provides a discussion of the 14 videotape reviews that have appeared in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy from 1996 through 2000. This retrospective analysis describes the recommendations made by the review authors concerning ways in which future video products may be enhanced to improve their instructional value. These recommendations include topics that might be given greater emphasis in future efforts as well as elements within the format of such tapes that aid learning and discussion.

A variety of intrinsic and extrinsic factors exert pressure on clinicians and researchers to forge a more effective alliance in their mutual efforts to understand treatment process and outcome. The authors provide a general framework and a specific group-therapy model to demonstrate how research measures can facilitate this integration and thereby improve the quality of service delivery. We divide treatment into four phases: negotiation, retention, enhancement, and evaluation, and illustrate how psychotherapists can use research instruments to overcome problems at each stage of intervention.