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The effectiveness of group psychotherapy has been empirically studied and supported over several decades; however, there remains much to understand regarding the specific factors contributing to effective group psychotherapy. The current study uses Kashy and Kenny's (2000) actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) to examine the relationship between an individual group member's outcome and the outcomes of the other group members. This is the first study to examine the effects of the outcomes of other therapy group members on those of individual members. Specifically, we examined the relationship between an individual group member's presymptom score, the aggregated presymptom scores of the other group members, and the aggregated pre- to postsymptom change of the other group members on an individual group member's pre- to postsymptom change. We analyzed the change in pre-post posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms of 105 women in 16 trauma-informed groups in a women's correctional facility. As hypothesized, an individual's presymptom measure (actor effect) and the aggregated presymptom measures of the other group members (partner effect) were positively related to the individual's change in PTSD symptoms. Contrary to our hypothesis, the aggregated pre-post change in PTSD symptom measures of the other group members (partner effect) was negatively associated with the pre-post change in PTSD symptom measures of an individual group member. Social comparison theory is discussed as an explanation for why a group member would report lowered amounts of change when in a group with others who are reporting a higher amount of change. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (Contains 1 table.)

Group therapy is a ubiquitous treatment modality. And its recent recognition as an APA specialty reflects both its empirical bases of support as a clinical intervention, as well as the decades of work that have gone into establishing competency standards for its practice. The present study seeks to add to this literature by examining how one develops into a group therapist, and how to best train group therapists to meet competencies. Specifically, for those who have achieved "expertness" in the practice of group work, this grounded theory (GT) study explores both how have they done so and how such practitioners, in turn, train and evaluate effectiveness in their group therapy trainees. Through analysis of in-depth interviews with nine peer-nominated expert group therapists, essential components of their development included an emphasis on experiential training, personal therapy, didactic coursework, participating in professional conferences, and simply enjoying group work. The study also identifies common competencies that these experts look for to determine effectiveness among their trainees, as well as how these experts determine their own level of effectiveness (and how these processes differ). Finally, the study proposes an emergent theoretical model as to how one develops a professional identity as a group therapist. Study limitations and implications for practice, training, advocacy, and research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into othe i r I people's fantasies for me and eaten alive. i - Audre Lorde (1984/[16], p. 137) I Women's research plummets over [COVID-19] lockdown - but articles from men increase. i - Headline from Anna Fazackerley's article in I The Guardian i , May 12, [13] INTRODUCTION: WHY THIS SPECIAL ISSUE? So we developed a call for historical perspectives on group work within and outside the domain of mental health, original empirical research, research-based systematic reviews, research and theory-informed conceptual or case study articles, and scholarly personal narrative on the topic of women and group work. While there is a robust body of literature on the efficacy and effectiveness of psychotherapy treatment for female survivors of sexual trauma, including group work specifically, a gap remains in understanding what the important group process variables are with this population. She has published in the area of group psychotherapy and taught group therapy clinicians for 17 years. [Extracted from the article]

This article explores the place of women in the specialization of group psychotherapy, particularly their representation in journal publications, both in topical coverage related to women as well as in editorial participation and leadership. We first present a brief history of group psychotherapy to provide overall context. Next, we present major cross-cutting themes related to women and group work that emerged from our review of nine peer-reviewed journals deemed most relevant to our investigation. We end with observations and a call for greater inclusion of women in the group psychotherapy literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

She co-facilitated a weekly therapy group for veterans with psychosis using a virtual (online) format for the VA with Dr. Kanas for over a year. This research review was written by Carmen Kilpatrick, M.D., and Nick Kanas, M.D., CGP, AGPA-F. Dr. Kilpatrick is a fourth-year psychiatry resident at the University of California, San Francisco, where she currently serves as the chief resident for adult inpatient psychiatric services. Dr. Kanas is a Professor Emeritus (Psychiatry) at the University of California, San Francisco, where he was the former Director of the Group Therapy Training Program and conducted research on therapy groups for patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. [Extracted from the article]

This special issue is devoted to understanding the experiences of professionals who both conduct therapy research and provide psychotherapy. To introduce this special issue, I first provide a brief overview of the potential significance of this topic, including my personal interest in this type of career, and the genesis of this special issue. Next, I address the prevalence of this kind of career among psychologists. I then discuss each of the six papers presented in this special issue, including salient themes connecting these authors’ works. Finally, informed by this scholarship and the research of others, I present a model for helping to conceptualize the various ways of being a clinician–researcher and conclude with a list of key points of learning, including recommendations for future inquiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientist-practitioner model encourages counseling psychologists to integrate research and psychotherapy practice professional roles, but knowledge abouthowprofessionals integrate clinical and research roles is limited. In addition, we know little about how counseling psychologists specifically integrate these roles. The current study utilizes a consensual qualitative research approach to analyze a discussion among prominent counseling psychologist therapist-researchers about how they have integrated these roles within their careers. Results revealed benefits and challenges faced by therapist-researchers. In addition, domains identified included the process and development of becoming a therapist-researcher, comparisons among each professional skill, and beliefs about being a therapist-researcher. General and typical themes articulated by the sample included: the idea that doing research iteratively informs clinical work and vice versa, that institutions can and should support integrating research and practice, and that doing research and being a clinician positively affect each other. Future directions for research and limitations of the data are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical wisdom dictates that group member absences are harmful to the group; however, this has not been empirically examined. How do group member absences affect the group’s climate, and do absences earlier or later in a group’s life differentially impact group climate? The current study examined the relationship between group member absence and the climate perceptions for attending members, during earlier and later sessions in a group’s development. As hypothesized, a significant interaction was found for group climate and time such that absences during early sessions were significantly related to higher levels of engagement and lower levels of avoidance (a more productive group atmosphere), while absences during later sessions were related to lower levels of engagement and higher levels of avoidance. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study sought to further explore the theoretical model of mutual influence among therapy group members, which postulates that group members influence one another and that this influence is a key component of group treatments. However, a recent finding suggested that group members’ adjusted posttreatment outcomes were not significantly related. The current study reexamined mutual influence by testing this relationship in a markedly different sample on two outcome variables, depression and hopelessness. The data consisted of 78 HIV+ men participating in six therapy groups in a Taiwanese correctional facility. Contrary to our hypothesis, the relationship between an individual group member’s posttreatment depression and the aggregated depression scores of the other group members was not significant. As hypothesized, the relationship between an individual group member’s posttreatment hope and the aggregated sense of hope of the other group members was significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a new conceptualization of behavioral norms as consisting of two components: the average amount of a target behavior exhibited in a group and the consistency of this behavior across group members. Using this conceptualization, we examined the relationship between group behavioral norms regarding intimate behav- iors and individual group members' intimate behaviors in two types of groups: interpersonal growth groups and trauma recovery groups. Specifically, we used the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM; Kenny, Kashy, Manetti, Piero, & Livi, 2002) to examine the relationships between an individual group member's amount of intimate behaviors (i.e., the actor effect), the amount (i.e., group mean) and consistency (i.e., SD) of intimate behaviors of the other group members in both the previous and current sessions (i.e., the partner effects), the interaction of the amount and consistency of the group's previous and current intimate behaviors, and the amount of intimate behaviors exhibited by the individual group member in the current session. A hierar- chical linear modeling analysis revealed that an individual group member's previous amount of intimate behaviors was positively related to her or his amount of intimate behaviors in the current session. Also, there was a significant interaction for the two components of the partner effect in the current session (i.e., group amount and consistency of intimate behaviors in the current session) such that when the consistency of intimate behaviors of the other group members was low, there was a significant, negative relationship between group amount of intimate behaviors and the individuals group member's intimate behaviors in a session. When consistency was high, however, this relationship was not significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A session-level analysis examines the relationship between intimate behaviors of an individual group member and of the other group members in a session, and individual group member attendance in the following session. Specifically, the model proposed by Kenny, Mannetti, Pierro, Livi, and Kashy (2002) for analyzing individual and group effects in small groups is used to examine session attendance in 575 group sessions for 30 group members in 5 interpersonal growth groups. Either being the member who enacted the most or least intimate behaviors in a session, or having a relatively lower level of intimate behaviors by the other group members in a session, decreases the likelihood that a group member would attend the following group session. These findings are interpreted in terms of Yalom and Leszcz’s (2005) ideas about being a group outlier and the importance of group context. Implications for research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Group therapy has been shown to be effective for treating a variety of problems, across particular treatment approaches. However, interesting questions about how group therapy helps people persist, given that little variance in client outcomes has been found to be attributable to the particular brand of therapy or treatment protocol. At the same time, treatments that are both empirically supported and efficient are in demand. Therefore, the present article reviews research related to transtheoretical constructs that can be applied to enhance the effectiveness of any short-term, manualized group therapy treatment. Specifically, research related to group therapy effectiveness, common or therapeutic factors models, group stage development theory, key interpersonal processes, and constructs from the multicultural competency literature are reviewed. Examples of how these principles might be applied in practice to a specific therapy group are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]