Some developmental characteristics of adult psychotherapy groups

This paper highlights some developmental characteristics of adult psychotherapy groups and the relationships among them. It argues that members of a therapy group will experience and have an opportunity to resolve within the group itself normal developmental conflicts of adult life such as learning to establish intimate relationships. In addition, members will reexperience unresolved developmental conflicts of childhood and adolescence that frequently prevent adequate resolution of adult developmental tasks, and have an opportunity to rework them. Lastly, because of the essential isomorphism of therapy groups, members' developmental conflicts will be experienced and dealt with when the group-qua-group is dealing with parallel developmental struggles in its own life.