A Summary of Empirical Data from the Investigation of Two Psychoanalytic Groups by Means of Repertory Grid Technique

Abstract

Two inpatient psychoanalytic therapy groups were investigated by sequential applications of repertory grid technique (Kelly, 1955) and a method for rating interactive behaviour in groups (Orlik, 1986). Results concerning characteristics of construing at the beginning of therapy, and the process of change during therapy, discriminating successful patients from unsuccessful ones, are presented. Therapy process factors contributing to change of construing of the self in relation to significant others are suggested and the contribution of interactional behaviour in the group to the development of therapy process as well as to treatment outcome is considered.

Special Section: Contemporary Challenges for Research in Group Analysis

“…A Bionian theoretical framework was used and methodological issues were discussed. Catina and Tschuschke (1993) have investigated two psychoanalytic groups by means of a sequential application of repertory grid techniques and a method for rating interaction behavior in groups. Results concerning characteristics of construing at the beginning of therapy and the process of change during therapy, discriminating successful patients from unsuccessful ones, are presented.…”

Process analysis of group interaction in therapeutic groups.

“…Fuhriman observed that the majority of such systems have not been applied to clinical groups. This conclusion was supported by the current analysis with one significant exception: the most recent series of interrelated studies by Tschuschke and colleagues (Catina & Tschuschke, 1993;MacKenzie & Tschuschke, 1993;Tschuschke & Dies, 1994;Tschuschke, MacKenzie, Haaser, & Janke, 1996). In an intensive investigation of two long-term, psychodynamically oriented inpatient groups, Tschuschke applied the SYMLOG (Bales et al, 1979) in a clinically creative manner.…”

“…Winter (1992) conducted a comprehensive review of applications of the grid to group therapy that reveals its flexibility for assessing a range of clinical phenomena and processes. Of importance is the convergent validation recently provided by Catina and Tschuschke (1993) and Greene (1993), who found significant associations between social cognitions used by these procedures and interpersonal behaviors, thus reinforcing the argument that these data can mirror actual group interaction.…”

“…Contributions to the Process-Outcome Literature Of the studies that have examined process variables relative to outcome, the four interrelated works by Tschuschke and colleagues (Catina & Tschuschke, 1993;MacKenzie & Tschuschke, 1993;Tschuschke & Dies, 1994;Tschuschke et al, 1996) are the most ambitious to date. The studies focused on two intermediate-term, analytically oriented inpatient groups for patients with neuroses and character disorders.…”

“…Multitrait-multimethod procedures would be useful in clarifying what process measures are actually measuring. The good news is that a few of the studies have attempted assessments of convergence, such as the Budman et al (1993) investigation of cohesion and Catina and Tschuschke's (1993) study of associations between the repertory grid technique and SYMLOG. I hope that the focus of the current book, precisely this kind of comparison among many systems of analysis all applied to the same clinical data, will stimulate additional psychometric work on convergence and discrimination.…”