The Ending of a Psychotherapy Group

Peternel, Franc

doi:10.1177/0533316491242007

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Simutis (1983) summarized termination literature by claiming that There is an agreement on the assumptions that termination has similar characteristics as a process regardless of the type of group involved and that these characteristics differ from the characteristics of the group at other times during the group's existence. (p. 3) Her research findings support these assumptions and she found that these characteristics include such behavior as expressions of sadness and anger, discussions of death, evaluation, need for the group, history of the group, desire to continue the group, resisting new areas of discussion, denial, and flight (see also, Garland et al, 1976;Moreland & Levine, 1988;Peternel, 1991). Lewis (1978), studying 16 groups of different types that had been in session for more than 1 year, confirmed the existence of such behavior patterns.…”

mentioning

confidence: 71%

“…For persons recovering from heart attacks, the termination stage may be interpreted as fulfillment of another step in rehabilitation or as adjustment to the disease, therefore relieving their anxiety. Alternatively, the termination stage may be perceived as a time of loss of a major support resource after the loss of health (Peternel, 1991;Yalom, 1985).…”

Section: Anxiety Alleviation Of Heart Attack Convalescentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anxiety Levels, Group Characteristics, and Members’ Behaviors in the Termination Stage of Support Groups for Patients Recovering From Heart Attacks

Kacen

1999

Research on Social Work Practice

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Objective: Examining the significance of the termination stage of support group activity and its effectiveness in alleviating anxiety among patients recovering from their first heart attack. Methods: 82 patients, 50 of whom participated in seven support groups, fill in questionnaires at six stages of the group intervention. Six observers conducted two stages of qualitative analysis of the groups'last meetings'videotapes. Results: The findings revealed a temporary increase in anxiety levels during the termination stage among the groups that effectively alleviated anxiety. These findings are partially explained by two components of the Group Environmental Scale: cohesiveness and task orientation. Resistance and ambivalence were typical behavior patterns of members at the termination stage of effective groups. Conclusions: Measuring group effectiveness before, during, and after the intervention enriches the knowledge of the correlation between group processes and group outcomes. Identifying behavior patterns contribute to social worker's online ability to evaluate group effectiveness.Theoretical approaches that have looked at the termination phase of a support group (Flapan & Fenchel, 1987;Keyton, 1993;Yalom, 1985) claim that particular experiences that are important to the health of individual group members are liable to arise at this stage of the group's development. These experiences concern separation, a sense of loss, abandonment anxiety, and an uncertainty regarding the future. These feelings are liable to upset emotional balance and increase the participants' anxiety levels (Eklof, 1984) thereby putting the efficacy of the group and its evaluation into question. Such questions are especially important when regarding patients recovering from heart attack whose principal purpose of attending support groups is to alleviate 656

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mentioning

confidence: 71%

Section: Anxiety Alleviation Of Heart Attack Convalescentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anxiety Levels, Group Characteristics, and Members’ Behaviors in the Termination Stage of Support Groups for Patients Recovering From Heart Attacks

Kacen

1999

Research on Social Work Practice

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Therapeutic Groups

Forsyth¹

2001

Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology: Group Processes

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Limiting Time-Unlimited Group Psychotherapy

Joyce

Duncan

et al. 1996

International Journal of Group Psychotherapy

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For a number of reasons, we decided to bring three long-term, open-ended psychodynamic therapy groups to termination. We examine the process that began with the announcement of the change to a time-limited format, and concluded with the termination of the group. The transition had a powerful impact on the members and the group-as-a-whole. The therapists used supervision to deal with the intensity of the group process and the countertransference demands posed by the transition. Groups facing a similar change due to economic pressures may benefit from these observations.

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The Ending of a Psychotherapy Group

Cited by 6 publications

References 7 publications

Anxiety Levels, Group Characteristics, and Members’ Behaviors in the Termination Stage of Support Groups for Patients Recovering From Heart Attacks

Anxiety Levels, Group Characteristics, and Members’ Behaviors in the Termination Stage of Support Groups for Patients Recovering From Heart Attacks

Therapeutic Groups

Limiting Time-Unlimited Group Psychotherapy

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