An exploratory study of videotapes of long-term group psychotherapy of outpatients with major and chronic mental illness

Abstract

This study explored patterns emerging in videotaped sessions of group psychotherapy with seven outpatients of a large mental health facility. The 22 sessions spanned the 12th to 27th months of the group's existence. Group members had long histories (25-50 years) of symptoms characteristic of schizophrenia. Each session was rated on the Group Environment Scale. One session from a group in its earlier stages was also rated on the same instrument to give some indication of baseline patterns. Analyses of changes across the 15 months were not statistically significant. However, some GES subscales, including Cohesion, Independence, and Self-Discovery, showed relatively high mean levels across the 15-month period. These elevations are discussed as suggesting the codevelopment of orientations that have sometimes been viewed as incompatible and unattainable for schizophrenics. Interpreted clinically, the GES patterns help

Process analysis of group interaction in therapeutic groups.

“…A few of the current investigations reflect a back-to-basics quality in terms of the intensive analysis of group process over sessions (Isbell et al, 1992;Kanas, Schoenfeld, Marmar, Weiss, & Koller, 1994;Kanas & Smith, 1990). They essentially are qualitative studies that applied descriptive-level statistics to frequency counts of behavioral categories across the entirety of the course of therapy groups.…”