‘Tied together feelings’ Group psychotherapy with latency children: the process of forming a cohesive group

In this paper we describe our experience of running a psychoanalytic psychotherapy group for six children, ranging in age from 4-8 years old. The group ran for a year, with sessions held weekly for an hour. The rationale for group work, selection criteria and the treatment setting are discussed. The paper charts the evolution within the children of the concept of an internal 'work group' (Bion, 1961), as opposed to a 'gang', as their self-awareness and capacity to relate to each other improved. This reflected a corresponding shift in their relationship to the two group leaders, moving from their initial perception of us as neglectful and in conflict with each other, towards recognizing us as a therapist couple who could work together thoughtfully for their benefit. The children's relationship to the group leaders, representing a 'parental couple' in the transference, was the focus of much of the work group. The positive outcomes for most of the children, resulting from this treatment, are reported.     

Teachers' and students' verbal behaviours during cooperative and small‐group learning

Background. Teachers play a critical role in promoting interactions between students and engaging them in the learning process. This study builds on a study by Hertz‐Lazarowitz and Shachar (1990) who found that during cooperative learning teachers' verbal behaviours were more helpful to and encouraging of their students' efforts while during whole‐class instruction, their verbal behaviours tended to be more authoritarian, rigid, and impersonal. Aim. This study seeks to determine if teachers who implement cooperative learning engage in more facilitative learning interactions with their students than teachers who implement group work only. The study also seeks to determine if students in the cooperative groups model their teachers' behaviours and engage in more positive helping interactions with each other than their peers in the group work groups. Samples. The study involved 26 teachers and 303 students in Grades 8 to10 from 4 large high schools in Brisbane, Australia. Methods. All teachers agreed to establish cooperative, small‐group activities in their classrooms for a unit of work (4 to 6 weeks) once a term for 3 school terms. The teachers were audiotaped twice during these lessons and samples of the students' language, as they worked in their groups, were also collected at the same time. Results. The results show that teachers who implement cooperative learning in their classrooms engage in more mediated‐learning interactions and make fewer disciplinary comments than teachers who implement group work only. Furthermore, the students model many of these interactions in their groups. Conclusions. The study shows that when teachers implement cooperative learning, their verbal behaviour is affected by the organizational structure of the classroom.     

Effects of imagining eating favorable and unfavorable foods on gastric motility indexed by electrogastrographic (EGG) activities

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of imagining favorable or unfavorable foods on the amplitude of EGG recordings. 40 subjects were assigned to Favorable food and Unfavorable food groups in which they were asked to imagine eating a list of favorable foods or unfavorable foods. Subjects sat in a chair for 16 min, of baseline measurement prior to the 16 min. of food imagining. Electrogastrographic (EGG) activities were recorded continuously throughout. Using Fast Fourier Transform analysis, the spectral power of EGG activity of 3 cycles per minute (cpm) was calculated, and the ratios of EGG 3 cpm spectral power for the period of food imagining and baseline were obtained. The EGG amplitude at 3 cpm during imagining eating a list of unfavorable food was significantly lower than that of the baseline period and the EGG ratio between the food-imagining and baseline periods was significantly lower in the Unfavorable group than in the Favorable food group. It appears that imagining eating unfavorable food significantly inhibited gastric motility as indexed by decreased power of EGG activities at 3 cpm.     

An “issue-focused” model for mental health consultation with groups of teachers

This paper presents and evaluates a model for group mental health consultation with teachers in which sessions are organized around mental health issues rather than cases. The rationale and advantages of the model are explicated and compared with other models of group consultation and group work with teachers. The model incorporates a heavy emphasis on educational preventive measures and is designed to simultaneously satisfy a wide range of consultee needs and to reduce anxiety and defensiveness. Consultant's preparations for the group sessions are highlighted so as to maximize their contribution to the participants' level of involvement, knowledge, skills, confidence, and objectivity. The different roles of the consultant during the session and the variety of techniques employed are described as they relate to group processes and consultation needs. Specific guidelines for the organization of consultation groups and training of group consultants are offered. Evaluation data based on feedback from participants in ten groups are included.     

“Hidden Treasures” from Israeli Women's Writing Groups: Exploring an Integrative,Feminist Therapy

This article presents the work of mental health practitioners and laywomen who have developed and applied a new model of working with women in groups, a model founded on feminist principles that uses women's writing as the vehicle for group work. The model maintains a delicate balance between the needs of the group, the needs of the women in their social environment, and the women's ability to be the broker of their time, place, and mode of expression. This article presents the theoretical roots of the model and the qualitative evaluation of the writing groups that have been held over seven years, and it discusses how and why this model works for women of all ages and from all walks of life.     

Form and forming a focus: In brief dynamic therapy

This paper describes a model of training for individual work which treats as essential the consideration of group and institutional dynamics, as contrasted with the ‘prevailing model’ in which such issues are not overtly attended to. The author outlines key elements of such a ‘group-aware’ model and endeavours to show the value of it in terms of the students’ self-development, their fuller use of the training experience and in relation to their clients. She suggests that such a model has key advantages over the ‘prevailing model' for all counselling and psychotherapy students, but places emphasis on its particular relevance and value for those training to work with children, adolescents and young people.     

When Daughter Becomes Mother: Inferences from Multiple Dyadic Parent–Child Groups

In this paper, I describe how new mothers can be preoccupied with their mothers and can replay their relationship with them transferentially with professionals and nannies, who become surrogates for their mothers. New mothers need affirmation from their mothers and from mother surrogates because, in their new role, they experience a sense of helplessness and anxiety and have difficulty tolerating aggression, ambivalence, and conflict. Stern's “motherhood constellation” and “good grandmother transference” are useful constructs for understanding how to best approach and help new mothers and their babies. From observations in multiple dyadic parent–child groups at the Pacella Parent Child Center, I have distilled two factors that help new mothers address their anxieties—the bonds these mothers make with one another and their transferential bond with the group leader and other professionals at the center. I critically discuss and compare theoretical inferences derived from individual psychoanalytic or psychotherapeutic work (as exemplified by Balsam's work) with the inferences derived from Stern's dyadic model and with inferences derived from psychoanalytically informed group situations. I consider the implications of the ubiquity of ambivalence conflicts, especially around aggression.     

Structural model of acculturation attitudes and related psychosocial variables: Empirical evidence in native Spaniards

This work falls within the framework of the study of acculturation processes of natives and immigrants. Its goal is to test an explanatory multi‐group model of natives' acculturation attitudes as a function of diverse psychosocial variables: Prejudice and natives' appraisal of their own culture (in a direct way) and inter‐group contact and perceived inter‐group similarity (in an indirect way). Participants were 499 Spaniards surveyed for their attitude towards Romanian immigrants and 493 towards Ecuadorian immigrants. The indicators used took into account three socio‐cultural spheres: peripheral, intermediate and central areas. This multi‐group model shows an adequate fit to the data.     

When two are a family: looking backward and looking forward in a group intervention with single‐by‐choice mothers

Objective: We describe a preventive short‐term group intervention with nine single‐by‐choice (SBC) mothers to provide maximal support for parental functioning and to minimize possible emotional and/or developmental difficulties in their children. Method: Dynamically oriented group work (fifteen one‐and‐a‐half‐hour sessions) focused on: elaboration of painful experiences in the peri‐natal period; reducing stress, tension and guilt; helping mothers with problematic aspects of parenting through work on parental self‐image and perceptions of the child and the dyadic interaction; and strengthening their acceptance of the chosen family model. Results: Therapeutic gains described by mothers and facilitators include: reduced tension, anxiety and guilt; improved integration of the mother's parental self‐image and perception of the child; reduced ambivalence in dyadic relationships; strengthening the mother's fantasized triadic relationships; better acceptance of chosen family pattern; mothers' willingness to tell children their birth story. Conclusion: Dynamically oriented preventive group intervention with SBC mothers can identify potential psychological risk factors and help mothers with sensitive aspects of parenting.     

Work,marriage, and health behaviors of African American working couples

Using a sample of 379 African American working husbands and wives, this study examined a unique link between work and marital experiences on health‐promoting behaviors. Results of the dyadic model show that husbands' and wives' control over work are directly associated with husbands' and wives' health‐promoting behaviors, respectively, after taking into account the dependencies between husbands and wives. The results of the dyadic model also show that husbands' and wives' control over work are indirectly associated with husbands' and wives' health behaviors through their perceived marital integrations. By understanding how work control and marital integration combine to influence both husbands' and wives' health behaviors, programs that promote healthy behaviors can be better designed and more effectively implemented.     

the transition from school to vocational education and training: a theoretical model and transition support program

This study developed a theoretical model of the school‐to‐work transition and evaluated the effects of a transition support program designed to prepare compulsory school graduates to enter the Swiss dual vocational education and training system. A 13‐session program was designed to improve teenagers' views toward the world of work and enable them to sharpen their interpersonal skills. The intervention's effects were assessed through interviews with participants at the program's completion and 1 year later and with participants' teachers. Findings showed that participants improved their readiness to face the world of work. Implications for future research and programs are discussed.     

Infant-led innovations in a mother-baby therapy group

A mother-baby therapy group for mothers and infants in their first year who are experiencing difficulties is described. In a literature review no comparable group where the infants are seen as members in their own right has been found. Themes in the mothers' material are outlined, followed by the infants' evolving interactive and internal processes. Some therapeutic factors, in particular interactions between the infants and interventions on the part of the therapists, are then illustrated with clinical material. Some infant-led innovations are described, such as the way the infants' activity is used as a basis for making ‘group as a whole’ interpretations, and in particular how the therapists' actions towards the infants have come to be viewed as a non-verbal form of interpretation. The role of attuned play in direct work with infants is discussed further.     

The teacher's role in promoting collaborative dialogue in the classroom

Background Research on student‐led small‐group learning in schools going back nearly four decades has documented many types of student participation that promote learning. Less is known about how the teacher can foster effective groupwork behaviours. Aims This paper reviews research that explores the role of the teacher in promoting learning in small groups. The focus is on how students can learn from their peers during small‐group work, how teachers can prepare students for collaborative group work, and the role of teacher discourse and classroom norms in small‐group dialogue. Method Studies selected for review focused on student‐led small‐group contexts for learning in which students were expected to collaborate, reported data from systematic observations of group work, and linked observational data to teacher practices and student learning outcomes. Results and conclusions This review uncovered multiple dimensions of the teacher's role in fostering beneficial group dialogue, including preparing students for collaborative work, forming groups, structuring the group‐work task, and influencing student interaction through teachers' discourse with small groups and with the class. Common threads through the research are the importance of students explaining their thinking, and teacher strategies and practices that may promote student elaboration of ideas.     

Family boundary characteristics,work–family conflict and life satisfaction: A moderated mediation model

Although work–family border and boundary theory suggest individuals' boundary characteristics influence their work–family relationship, it is largely unknown how boundary flexibility and permeability mutually influence work–family conflict and subsequent employee outcomes. Moreover, the existing work–family conflict research has been mainly conducted in the United States and other Western countries. To address these gaps in the work–family literature, the present study examines a moderated mediation model regarding how family boundary characteristics may influence individuals' work–family conflict and life satisfaction with a sample of 278 Chinese full‐time employees. Results showed that employees' family flexibility negatively related to their perceived work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW), and both these two relationships were augmented by individuals' family permeability. In addition, WIF mediated the relationship between family flexibility and life satisfaction; the indirect effect of family flexibility on life satisfaction via WIF was stronger for individuals with higher family permeability. The theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.     

Books Received

The physical and mental consequences of the Holocaust combined with difficult present events and the problems of old age can have devastating effects on survivors. Our clinic has recently introduced a psychodynamic-supportive group therapy model for elderly Holocaust, survivors. The model includes specific integrative interventions, which are based on Horowitz's model, of mourning and coping with stress and the leaders' clinical experience. The aim of the group is to improve the patients' homeostasis and enhance their ego functions and adaptation to inner and outer worlds. The theory and working model, are described.     

“Don't let the group down”: Facets of instrumentality moderate the motivating effects of groups in a field experiment

The motivating effects of group work as compared with individual work are not restricted to the research laboratory but have recently been documented in existing groups performing meaningful tasks. Freestyle swimmers at the 2008 Olympics were shown to swim faster in relay groups than in the individual competitions when their contribution was highly instrumental for the relay group (i.e., indispensable) because of their serial position in the group. The present study replicated and extended this work, aggregating a larger sample from major sports events (N = 199 freestyle swimmers) that also allowed for a competitive test between the instrumentality approach and explanations based on differences in the starting procedures of relay and individual competitions. Consistent with expectancy value models of effort expenditure in groups, swimmers were faster in the relay groups as compared with individual competitions only when (i) a swimmer's performance was highly instrumental for the group's performance (i.e., later serial position in the relay) and (ii) the group's performance was highly instrumental for a positive group outcome (i.e., the relay group had a good chance of winning a medal). The data were not consistent with an explanation of performance differences merely as a result of different starting procedures. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Defensive patterns in reflective group supervisions at Child Health Centres

Reflective group supervision with infant healthcare workers has been described in several publications. It aims to enhance their ability to help distressed families, and to comprehend and relieve themselves of the distress that they encounter in such work. The ultimate aim has been formulated as an effort at increasing the professional's reflective function. The present article adds to the literature by applying an ego-psychological perspective on the group process and investigating defensive patterns in such supervisions. This approach includes a critical discussion of the place of the reflective function concept in psychoanalytic metapsychology. The article also suggests a Bionian perspective to account for skewed communicative patterns in groups, so-called basic assumptions. Some technical recommendations are provided on the frame in group supervision. They aim to disarm such defenses and facilitate the group participants’ possibilities of understanding and thus helping their colleague's problematic relationship with the family. To illustrate the discussion, and to help readers form an image of the supervision process, brief detailed accounts of such work are submitted.     

Neglected and Rejected Children: A Social-Skills Model

This study examined the hypothesis that rejected children's inability to interact successfully with their peers stems from misperception of nonverbal communication cues, whereas neglected children have the necessary perceptual skills and their inability arises because they are unable to use them. Comparisons were made among 5- and 9-year-old neglected, rejected, and control children (six groups, N = 15 per group) on four tasks: affective empathy, cognitive empathy, decoding of facial expressions of emotion, and decoding of emotional situations. The results, which were consistent with the hypothesis, are interpreted in a social-skills model based on the work of Argyle and Powers.