The group as selfobject: brief psychotherapy with women

This article applies the theory of self psychology, which was developed by Heinz Kohut, to brief group psychotherapy. The article discusses the significance of the group as an expanded selfobject for individuals who do not have appropriate, available selfobjects in their environment. The article addresses the rationale for developing a 12-week women's group from a self-psychological perspective and illustrates key theoretical concepts in the beginning, middle, and end phases with group process. The role of the therapist in each phase of group development is emphasized.     

Inducing psychotherapy: Hypnotic analogue for brief psychotherapy

These authors contend that hypnosis is a useful analogue and change accelerator for brief psychotherapy.A deep structure of psychotherapy is described by Frank, as making changes in a person's assumptive world so he/she may live more effectively. Cognitive alterations arise from new emotional experiences or emotional schemas which in turn have arisen in the context of a therapy relationship.A parsimonious recipe for the structure of brief psychotherapy is hypnosis. Hypnotic analogues for psychotherapy emerge from many theoretical backgrounds. After integrating aspects of these theories, a general analogue of hypnosis for the structure of brief psychotherapy is suggested. The analogue addresses induction, power issues, deepening, making and solidifying cognitive alterations, and endings.     

A dynamic/expressive approach to brief inpatient group psychotherapy

Therapeutic action occurs in groups when patients simultaneously become more accepting of their own thoughts and feelings and increase their capacity to share more benign and mature interpersonal relationships with the therapist and other patients. This orientation can guide practitioners of brief inpatient group psychotherapy in choosing when to use interpersonal, problemsolving, or object relations techniques, or more traditional dynamic/expressive techniques. While the brief inpatient modality requires an increase in suppressive techniques compared to the longterm outpatient modality, suppression must be used judiciously, to facilitate rather than interfere with selfunderstanding and development of therapeutic relationships. Specific technical choices are derived from this principle and illustrated with a case example.     

Guiding Self-Change: A new model for brief psychotherapy

The authors summarize the essential ingredients of contemporary Brief Therapy (BT), the features that distinguish BT from longer-term therapies, and BT's core assumptions about personal change and influence. They then describe “Guided Self-Change” (GSC), an explicitly value-driven approach to personal change based on modern principles of adult education. GSC places primary responsibility for change with the patient as early as practicable. Inherent in this approach is an emphasis on efficient, limited utilization of counseling sessions to mentor patients' real life attitude and behavior experiments. Advantages of a highly proactive, value-driven educational orientation over the traditional therapeutic paradigm are enumerated, especially given current pressures for therapeutic efficiency.     

Using the prospective approach as an adjunct to established models of group psychotherapy

Four models of group therapy-psychoanalytic, psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and existential-are discussed. Three features of these models are compared: the therapist's role, the establishment of a therapeutic alliance, and the working through of conflict. Despite their advantages, each of these models has certain limitations. Techniques derived from the prospective principles of caregiver-infant interaction may help overcome these limitations, resulting in additional insight about the relational patterns of the group members. This prospective approach supplements established models by facilitating a more rapid identification of latent conflict, as well as easing the working-through phase and the transition from conflict to a conflict-free state. In addition, the prospective approach promotes the integration of diverse models of group psychotherapy.     

Psychogymnastics in group psychotherapy for in-patients]

The author describes specific problems arising in the use of psychogymnastics as a part of group psychotherapy for in-patients. She also discusses sociometric, diagnostic and therapeutic aims, and the potential and limitations of the method.