Interactive Group Therapy: Integrating, Interpersonal, Action-Orientated and Psychodynamic Approaches / Edition 1

by Jay Earley

Overview

Interactive Group Therapy is a complete guide to group psychotherapy based on the author's unique integrated approach. Dr. Earley integrates from interpersonal group therapy a focus on the feeling reactions and relationships among group members, from psychodynamic approaches, an appreciation of unconscious processes and childhood origins, and from Gestalt therapy, the importance of awareness, contact, and experimentation. The book develops an action-oriented leadership style for group-centered groups and a new interpersonal understanding of the therapeutic change process in group therapy, leading to an approach that has impressive depth and creativity. It covers both short-term and long-term groups, making it a valuable book for those interested in brief therapies.

The primary focus of Interactive Group Therapy is to provide practical guidelines for leading groups. It offers detailed suggestions for structuring groups, creating a therapeutic group climate, promoting interpersonal work, and helping group members develop awareness and responsibility. It discusses how to handle conflict, foster therapeutic change, work with difficult clients, adopt the best leadership attitude, understand group process, and a host of other clinical issues. In addition to rich clinical examples and case histories, this book also presents transcripts of group sessions, annotated to illustrate both theory and technique. The author's thorough presentation of his approach, its theoretical underpinnings, and its application to actual groups make this a valuable resource for graduate students in the mental health professions and psychotherapists of all levels of experience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138005204
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/25/2015
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Part 1: The Therapeutic Change Process. Access. Healing Response. Experimenting. Inner Healing. Transcript Part 2: Creating a Therapeutic Group Culture. How to Structure a Group. Therapeutic Group Norms. Responsibility, Motivation and Direction. Self-Exploration-Awareness and Insight. Interactive Work. Presence and Contact. Transcript. Part 3: Facilitating The Process. Defenses and Resistance. Problem Ownership. Aggression. Intervention Choices. The Group Leader's Attitude. The Leader-Client Relationship. Outside Contact Between Group Members. Part 4: Group-Related Issues. Developmental Stages of Group Process. Termination. Group Roles and Positions. Difficult Group Members. The Group-as-a-Whole. Part 5: Special Issues. Gender and Diversity. Other Issues. Specialized Groups. Societal Issues. Glossary. Appendix. References.

Editorial Reviews

"Interactive Group Therapy is an enormous resource for the field of group psychotherapy. It is the most comprehensive and eclectic book on group psychotherapy I have seen. It is well-organized, easy to read, and full of passion and energy. It covers all aspects of working with groups and speaks to the depth and variety of training that therapists will have in most clinical programs and work settings. It is clear that Dr. Earley has been a group therapist for many years and has thought extensively about his work, both theoretically and in application to real groups of real people. He is a gifted teacher and does a masterful job of describing his understanding of the change process in psychotherapy and in group psychotherapy. Earley illuminates his intricate, theoretical perspective with clear examples from his group therapy practice. This meshing of concepts with application works beautifully to teach throughout the book."

- Beverly Reifman, LICSW, BCD.

From the Publisher

Earley (Director of the Group Therapy Center of Long Island) presents an approach that attempts to combine the three main strands of American group therapy. Covering both long-term and short-term therapies, Early emphasizes an active leadership style, group member interaction as the primary vehicle for change, and an attention to unconscious processes and childhood origins of current problems. He explains the proper way to facilitate this approach and discusses issues arising from special populations. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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