Group Psychotherapy and the Nature of Drug Addiction

There is little evidence that the development and resolution of a regressive transference neurosis is an important or useful experience for patients in once-a-week outpatient group psychotherapy. Rather, research evidence and clinical experience suggest that a broad range of therapeutic factors are important. Before group treatment, patients expect to gain from insight, catharsis, interpersonal output, and interpersonal input. Patients who have had short therapeutic experiences indicate that catharsis, learning to trust others, and learning how one relates to others are most important. In longer-term therapies, a broad range of factors comes into play, including universalization, altruism, guidance, and existential factors, in addition to catharsis, insight, and interpersonal learning.