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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]

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]

Group climate refers to the atmosphere that is both created and experienced by a group of people. Theoretically, the “climate” of a group should therefore be related to the behaviors of its members during group sessions; however, this has not been empirically tested. A longitudinal design was used to examine the relationship between group member perceptions of engagement and conflict and group member intimate behaviors during the group session. Data came from 73 incarcerated women participating in 6 manualized (Trauma Recovery and Empowerment Model) therapy groups. At each session, group members completed measures of their perceptions of the group's engagement and conflict (the Group Climate Questionnaire), and the group leader completed a behavioral count of each member's intimate behaviors. Group climate was examined both for the group member (actor) and aggregated across the other group members, excluding the actor (partner). In addition, these actor and partner scores were decomposed into between-member and within-member components. None of the between-member differences in engaged or conflict perceptions were significantly related to intimate behaviors. There was a significant positive relationship between actor's and partner's engagement ratings and partner's conflict ratings in a session and the actor's intimate behaviors in that session. Study results highlight the importance of examining changes that may be occurring from session to session in group climate perceptions and the need to examine partner's perceptions in order to best understand how an individual group member will behave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study sought to apply the concept of person–group (P-G) fit from the domain of organizational psychology to the domain of group psychotherapy. A time-series design was used to examine the relationship between an individual group member's fit with her group, operationalized as congruence and convergence, on perceptions of group climate and her session attendance and change in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Fifty-one of 73 incarcerated women, participating in six manualized (trauma recovery and empowerment model [TREM]) therapy groups provided data for analyses. Group members completed measures of group climate at each session and pre- and posttest ratings on the PTSD Symptom Scale-Self Report (PSS-SR). Fit with the group was operationalized as the absolute difference between a group member's score on engagement, avoidance, and conflict, and the average scores on these dimensions for the other group members. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine session-level (N = 1,606) fit across time. Results indicated that fit with the group for avoidance decreased (diverged), and conflict increased (converged) across sessions. Increasing fit with the group on perceptions of group conflict was associated with attending more group sessions (commitment), and increasing fit with the group on perceptions of group avoidance was associated with PTSD symptom change (goal accomplishment). Study results highlight that group processes (like fit) should be studied over time and in relation to relevant clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [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]

This research review was written by Jessica Hua, M.A., and Nick Kanas, M.D., CGP, FAGPA. She has conducted research examining cognitive biases in extremely positive schizotypy individuals with increased psychosis risk, as well as research examining neurobiological correlates of psychosis risk. Dr. Kanas has written and edited research reviews for the I International Journal of Group Psychotherapy i for more than 20 years. [Extracted from the article]

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]

Presently there is a lack of evidence regarding the impact of gender composition of mixed-gender weight management therapy groups on members’ posttreatment outcomes. As such, the current study tested the association between the gender composition of mixed-gender narrative therapy groups for weight management and members’ posttreatment outcomes. Specifically, we examined the variability in group members’ adjusted posttreatment psychological (Outcome Questionnaire-45 [OQ-45]) and obesity-related (Obesity Related Well-Being [ORWELL 97]) symptoms as a function of the quadratic proportion of female members in a group, and the interaction between group member gender and the quadratic proportion of female group members. Pre- and posttreatment OQ-45 and ORWELL 97 data was collected from 32 men and 67 women participating in 15 short-term weight-management therapy groups. Results indicated that the quadratic proportion of female group members was significantly related to adjusted posttreatment OQ-45 scores, such that group members reported fewer psychological symptoms at posttreatment in more proportionally balanced groups of men and women. This relationship was not significant for adjusted posttreatment ORWELL 97 scores. Additionally, in an exploratory analysis we found a significant interaction between group member gender, the proportion of female group members, and group members’ adjusted posttreatment OQ-45 scores, indicating that the relationship between gender composition and adjusted posttreatment OQ-45 scores was stronger for men than women. These preliminary findings suggest that the gender composition of weight management groups is an important factor in group members’ posttreatment psychological outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]