Limited Goals in Short-Term Group Psychotherapy with Institutionalized Delinquent Adolescent Boys

This paper applies a specific view of familylike dynamics to psychoanalytic group psychotherapy. Pathological forms of protectiveness and scapegoating are both involved in which the symptomatic individuals maintain an enmeshment with the group which saves them from anxieties associated with change. As the scapegoat, the problem patient becomes the spokesperson for a group transference involving the therapist(s), group members, and a developmentally internalized family. The primary technical error is the tendency for the therapist, in the guise of appropriate technique, to unconsciously collude with a scapegoating process thereby discouraging differentiation and growth. Viewing the group from the perspective of pathological versus healthy forms of family interaction helps to highlight certain problems in the therapist's interventions.     

A dual-motive model of scapegoating: displacing blame to reduce guilt or increase control

The authors present a model that specifies 2 psychological motives underlying scapegoating, defined as attributing inordinate blame for a negative outcome to a target individual or group, (a) maintaining perceived personal moral value by minimizing feelings of guilt over one's responsibility for a negative outcome and (b) maintaining perceived personal control by obtaining a clear explanation for a negative outcome that otherwise seems inexplicable. Three studies supported hypotheses derived from this dual-motive model. Framing a negative outcome (environmental destruction or climate change) as caused by one's own harmful actions (value threat) or unknown sources (control threat) both increased scapegoating, and these effects occurred indirectly through feelings of guilt and perceived personal control, respectively (Study 1), and were differentially moderated by affirmations of moral value and personal control (Study 2). Also, scapegoating in response to value threat versus control threat produced divergent, theoretically specified effects on self-perceptions and behavioral intentions (Study 3).     

Proposed Revisions of the By-Laws of the American Group Psychotherapy Association,Inc.

Abstract

The social constructs of the group, the group self of an individual member, and the moral order of the group as a whole are described as basic, interrelated concepts essential to our understanding of scapegoating. Two patterns of scapegoating are then introduced: one concerns antagonistic, the other, agonistic relations of scapegoat to scapegoaters. A series of case examples are presented, one involves an advocacy group of socio-cultural “outsiders;” the other three pertain to scapegoating in therapy group settings. The case materials illustrate the meaning and usefulness of an intersubjective/social constructivist perspective on the problem of scapegoating.     

Perspectives on scapegoating in primary groups

Theory and research related to the scapegoat role and scapegoating processes in primary groups are reviewed. This review and evaluation of the literature leads to the conclusion that scapegoating phenomena, though often highly stressful, can contribute significantly to individual and group development. Treatment issues and approaches are discussed.     

On scapegoating in therapy groups: a social constructivist and intersubjective outlook.

The social constructs of the group, the group self of an individual member, and the moral order of the group as a whole are described as basic, interrelated concepts essential to our understanding of scapegoating. Two patterns of scapegoating are then introduced: one concerns antagonistic, the other, agonistic relations of scapegoat to scapegoaters. A series of case examples are presented, one involves an advocacy group of socio-cultural "outsiders;" the other three pertain to scapegoating in therapy group settings. The case materials illustrate the meaning and usefulness of an intersubjective/social constructivist perspective on the problem of scapegoating.     

Systems of Psychotherapy: A Comparative Study by Donald H. Ford and Hugh B. Urban

Abstract

The group beholds its leader: a looming figure of fantasy, an emerging figure of reality. Psychic patterns that play out in group cohesion, culture, conflicts, and process are rooted in interaction with this combined object. I describe a two-day conference on relational group psychotherapy. An assemblage had beheld “me,” a visitor with gifts of knowledge, initially welcomed with collective expectation. Rivalrous and acquisitive desire (Girard, 2004) set group process in motion, involving scapegoating and open conflict, but also, self discovery and mutual appreciation. Confronted with “me,” the representative, messenger, even embodiment of truth, the group had to deal with feelings, fantasies, and thoughts that were “not nice.” There were moments of fear for the safety and survival of our group, yet I did not comprehend the extent to which envy, in tooth and nail, with devouring hunger tore into every aspect of our mentalities. Under its catabolic force, I was captured and I could not articulate to myself the sense of what it was, until the group shifted and released me from envy’s intersubjective captivity.

In group, whatever is being talked about—whoever is reacting to whom or to what—the group’s focal conflict, predominating basic assumption, developmental level or stage, its regressions and progressions, dyadic interactions, subgroupings, and so forth, I now assume that on one level, it is all about “me.”     

Terminations

Whether the person leaving the group is a group member or a group therapist, the basic dynamics of separation are the same, involving the separation process as well as mourning. Terminations evoke ambivalent feelings of both separation-pain and hope. Group members and the departing person experience a loss, which reminds them of other losses, and the departing person (group member or therapist) may also experience some guilt. Any termination will have an effect on the-group-as-a-whole, as well as on the individual members, and must be dealt with prior to the actual leaving, as well as after the termination.     

Scapegoating: Dynamics and Interventions in Group Counseling

Scapegoating in group counseling may be understood from the perspective of 3 levels of group functioning: intrapsychic, interpersonal, and the group as an entity. Intense scapegoating interactions tend to trigger defense mechanisms among group members. The article reviews a progressive 3‐stage conceptualization of group development that contributes to a more complete understanding of the means to initiate therapeutic change of the phenomenon. Various interventions outlined in the article can assist the group counselor in effectively responding to scapegoating in group counseling.     

The Present Status of Group Therapy in United States Correctional Institutions

A time-limited group treatment program focusing on mothers of toddlers with a borderline personality disorder is reported. The project involved two intersecting groups—the toddler group and the mother group. The focus of the work with the children was to promote their social interests and skills to an expanded world beyond the maternal dyad. The focus of the work with the mothers was on their difficulties with emotional separation-individuation and on strengthening their ego functioning, particularly in the area of mothering so that they could participate positively in their child's separation-individuation phase.

Representative group process is presented as it organized around three distinct phases. The initial phase was marked by intense resistance, and ambivalence. During the middle phase, group cohesion developed around shared feelings and issues. The termination phase focused insistently on issues of separation. Conclusions drawn from the project include the utility of a group approach in influencing maternal behavior.     

Managing the aftermath: Scapegoating as crisis communication strategy

Should firms struggling with a brand crisis use scapegoating, the assignment of blame to another entity? Across three studies, we offer evidence of the value of scapegoating. We show that when firms use scapegoating, they reduce consumers' attributions of a firm's crisis responsibility, controllability, and stability. Compared to other strategies, including no response, denial, apology, and justification, scapegoating is most effective at reducing these attributions. However, attributions of crisis controllability seem more influential in reducing a firm's crisis responsibility. Scapegoating also increases consumers' word‐of‐mouth (WOM) intentions more than the no response strategy, but not more than denial, apology, and justification. The effect of scapegoating, however, depends on the scapegoat type. Whereas using an underdog scapegoat such as a regular company employee or a small partner firm can backfire and result in negative WOM intentions, the use of topdog scapegoats seems to have more positive effects. When firms use topdog scapegoats, such as the top management of a large firm, negative WOM intentions likely decrease. This type of effect seems to occur due to a reduction in the firm's crisis responsibility that scapegoating engenders.     

The impact of race and ethnicity on transference and countertransference in combined individual/group therapy

Interracial group psychotherapy is workable. Psychodynamics get cathected onto race; as this paper will show, the group process elicits feelings about racial and ethnic differences with greater intensity than in individual therapy. Analysis of race/ethnicity can be both problematic and growth enhancing for treatment. The process of identifying conscious and unconscious feelings and thoughts of race/ ethnicity can stimulate major resistance, which can engender difficulties in maintenance of a working alliance. However, the working through of these feelings/thoughts may have a catalytic effect and lead to a more rapid unfolding of core psychodynamic issues. Case material from a multi-racial/multi-ethnic therapy group illustrate these issues.The author wants to thank Drs. Nina Fieldsteel, Bob Addison, and Judith Caligor for their support and critical commentary, and Helene Kylen for her editorial assistance. An earlier version of this paper was presented in 1986 at Culture, Race, and Ethnicity in Group and Family Therapy, sponsored by Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society, New York University, and the University of Puerto Rico.     

Emotion processing and regulation in women with morbid obesity who apply for bariatric surgery

Emotional eating, the tendency to eat when experiencing negative affect, is prevalent in morbid obesity and may indicate that ways to deal with emotions are disturbed. Our aim was to compare emotion processing and regulation between 102 women with morbid obesity who apply for bariatric surgery and 102 women from the general population (control group) and to examine in the group with morbid obesity the association of emotion processing and regulation with emotional eating. The group with morbid obesity reported higher scores on difficulty identifying feelings (alexithymia, p?=?0.002) and suppression of emotions (p?=?0.003) than the control group. In the women with morbid obesity, more negative affect and a higher difficulty identifying feelings were correlated with more emotional eating (r?=?0.36 and r?=?0.35, p?<?0.001). Our study suggests that negative emotions and unhealthy emotion processing may play a role in emotional eating, and it indicates the possible relevance of emotion processing and emotional regulation as initiating or perpetuating mechanisms in morbid obesity.     

Freud: Dictionary of Psychoanalysis Edited by N. Fodor and F. Gaynor

Acting out should be expected in the treatment of incest victims. These persons attempt to communicate through actions a plethora of confusing feelings resulting from the incest; such actions occur outside the therapy sessions and their meanings are out of the patient's awareness. Working through the underlying feelings is the necessary therapeutic task. It is unlikely that acting-out behavior will be completely eliminated, but the development of self-acceptance and a willingness to explore the meaning of the behaviors are reasonable and attainable therapeutic goals with the help of the other group members.

Three areas of acting out are elucidated: sex, power and sadism, and self-destructiveness. Clinical vignettes drawn from the authors' experience conducting group psychotherapy are used to illustrate both acting out and working through.     

Group process and group phenomena on the Internet.

This article identifies group processes and group phenomena in discussion lists on the Internet and examines the differences and similarities with the processes in small and large groups. Group dynamics and phenomena, such as boundaries, cohesion, transference, scapegoating, and the leader's role are addressed. Large group features, such as alienation, vulnerability, and the vast amount of issues discussed in parallel are described. There are similarities between the discussion list and small groups on issues of cohesion and group norms, and in the psychological mechanisms of transference and scapegoating. There are differences regarding the contract, boundaries, leaving the group, and extra-group socialization. Although many of the phenomena described resemble a large group, a discussion list on the Internet maintains the illusion of being a small group and frequently acts like one. While a virtual therapy group would be somewhat different from a real group, it could nonetheless be useful.     

The effect of essentialism in settings of historic intergroup atrocities

Three studies tested the effects of essentialist beliefs regarding the national ingroup in situations where a perpetrator group has inflicted harm on a victim group. For members of the perpetrator group, it was hypothesised that ‘essentialism’ has a direct positive association with ‘collective guilt’ felt as a result of misdeeds conducted by other ingroup members in the past. Simultaneously, it was hypothesised to have an indirect negative association with collective guilt, mediated by perceived threat to the ingroup. Considering these indirect and direct effects jointly, it was hypothesised that the negative indirect effect suppresses the direct positive effect, and that the latter would only emerge if perceived ‘ingroup threat’ was controlled for. This was tested in a survey conducted in Latvia among Russians (N = 70) and their feelings toward how Russians had treated ethnic Latvians during the Soviet occupation; and in a survey in Germany among Germans (N = 84), focussing on their feelings toward the Holocaust. For members of the victim group, it was hypothesised that essentialism would be associated with more anger and reluctance to forgive past events inflicted on other ingroup members. It was proposed that this effect would be mediated by feeling connected to the ingroup victims. This was tested in a survey conducted among Hong Kong Chinese and their feelings toward the Japanese and the Nanjing massacre (N = 56). Results from all three studies supported the hypotheses. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

School-based discussion groups for children of divorce: A pilot program

This paper describes a pilot program for school-based discussion groups for children of divorce. Relevant literature is reviewed and a model for a semistructured discussion group for latency-aged children is presented. Particular techniques used to engage children in discussion of relevant issues are described. While we have not conducted a systematic outcome study of these groups, our impression is that while some definite concrete changes have occurred for several children, for others, change has been located more in the representational than behavioral world. Children may remain unable to communicate angry feelings to the absent parent but as a result of the group experiences may be able to stop thinking of themselves as bad for harboring such feelings in the first place.Formerly an Elementary Guidance Counselor in the Brookline Public Schools, currently is an Educational Consultant in the Philadelphia area.     

Reflections on group psychotherapy with eating-disordered patients

This paper addresses some of the dynamics, resistances, and transference and countertransference considerations in group psychotherapy with eating disordered patients. Several resistances are delineated, including guilt over being helped, the recreation of early problems around control and forced feeding, and withdrawal as a defensive operation. A brief vignette is presented which highlights the demand on the part of the therapist as well as the patient to contain and manage feelings rather than acting on them. Lastly, the author argues that group participation helps the patient to identify, articulate, and accept feelings and to promote assertiveness.This paper is based on a presentation given at the Training Institute for Mental Health on May 11, 1991.     

The impact of group psychotherapy on the self-image and self-feelings

Group psychotherapy is presented as an effective way of changing the self-image and self-feelings; the image of the self and feelings about the self being brought into awareness by the group process. After a brief review of relevant literature, group-specific experiences that affect the self-image and self-feelings are described. These include: the mirror phenomenon and triadic relationships; resonance; direct confrontations and challenges from other members; comparing oneself with, and differentiating oneself from, other members; and experimentation with new, different ways of relating to other group members. Some of the experiences of group members and, finally, the significant role of the therapist in this process are described.     

The danger of Durkheim: Ambiguity in the theory of social effervescence

The purpose of this article is to shed light on an ambiguity in Émile Durkheim's theory of social effervescence. Durkheim's failure to distinguish two kinds of effervescence at the heart of the religious rite has left a dangerous legacy in the study of religion. If his work is read, however, in light of René Girard's theory of the violent origins of religion, his analysis of la société can retain the distinction between the effervescence of the crowd in scapegoating and the effervescence of protecting the victims of scapegoating. This thesis is tested by briefly comparing some contemporary essays on Durkheim.