Fred Wright

The Effects of Style and Sex of Consultants and Sex of Members in Self-Study Groups.

The self-study group is a technique of group training designed to facilitate learning about behavior in the small group setting (Klein and Astrachan, 1971 ), and it is different in a number of ways from the more widely known laboratory training group or &dquo;T-group.&dquo; The study group approach focuses exclusively on group level processes and the relations that obtain between group members and authority figures. The study group consultant is nondirective and avoids relating to members as a participant; the consultant functions only as an observer and commentator on group process. In the T-group, by contrast, the focus tends to be more on individual members and interpersonal relations between members; authority-related issues are not systematically examined and the trainer functions in a participant-leader role. Therefore,

Men, shame and antisocial behavior: A psychodynamic perspective

This paper discusses the psychosocial factors that contribute to male antisocial behavior. The role of shame and related affects is emphasized. Compensatory defenses associated with these affects are also described. Developmental concepts are reviewed in the light of recent research. Finally, some of the issues involved in doing psychotherapy with this population are discussed, with an emphasis on the value of group therapy.

The use of the self in group leadership: a relational perspective.

ABSTRACT This article, written from a relational perspective, describes a shift that is taking place in the thinking of many psychodynamically oriented psychotherapists regarding the practice of therapy and the implications it has for group therapists. The shift, from one-person to two-person and multiperson theory, has particular importance for group leaders since it recommends making the subjective involvement of the therapist in the interactional field of the group much more a part of the treatment process. Theory and research on the use of countertransference, noninterpretive interventions, humor, and spontaneity by the leader are reviewed and vignettes are presented to illustrate the application of these ideas. Guidelines regarding the application of such ideas in group therapy are also discussed.

Men, shame, and group psychotherapy

Male difficulties with shame and intimacy are described. Theories and research addressing the sources of the problem are summarized. Technical issues to keep in mind when conducting psychotherapy with men are also discussed. Finally, the special value of group therapy for treating men with shame-related problems is discussed and illustrated.

Being Seen, Moved, Disrupted, and Reconfigured: Group Leadership from a Relational Perspective

This paper describes a relational approach to conducting group therapy. Relevant psychoanalytic concepts such as enactment, transference, and countertransference are defined from this perspective. Two concepts central to this school of thought, mutuality and recognition, are also reviewed. Finally, the topics of self-disclosure and emotional turmoil related to leading therapy groups from a relational point of view are discussed.

Perspectives on scapegoating in primary groups

Theory and research related to the scapegoat role and scapegoating processes in primary groups are reviewed. This review and evaluation of the literature leads to the conclusion that scapegoating phenomena, though often highly stressful, can contribute significantly to individual and group development. Treatment issues and approaches are discussed.

The charismatic leader and the violent surrogate family

In recent times a new kind of violent behavior has emerged that is both shocking and puzzling. A variety of familylike groups, usually religiously oriented and often headed by highly charismatic leaders, have engaged in unusually bizarre and violent behavior. Generally referred to as cults, they have carried out their activities in a fairly methodical and cohesive fashion. The most dramatic example, of course, is the murder of the United States Congressman Leo J. Ryan and members of his investigating party, as well as the subsequent mass suicide of more than 900 members of the People’s Temple, that occurred in Guyana on November 18,1978. Other examples of violent cults abound. There was the Charles Manson group, which functioned in the early 1970s and which murdered a number of people in California in an unusually grim and sadistic manner. Recently, members of Synanon, a well-known California-based group, originally founded to treat drug addiction and lately reported to be taking on the characteristics of a cult, has been accused of the attempted murder of a prosecutor by putting a rattlesnake in his mailbox. In 1977, a self-styled renegade Mormon prophet named Immanuel David-who, like Jim Jones, had been visited by holocaustic visions-killed himself. The next morning, his wife helped their seven children jump from their eleventh floor hotel room and then followed them. Another renegade Mormon prophet, Ervil Le Baron, who heads a sect called the Church of the Lamb of God, has been convicted of inciting some of his followers to murder his own brother, as well as others, apparently to consolidate his leadership position within his group. Coercion and violence appear to be a common and an accepted characteristic of many other cults as well. According to reports by the news media,’* investigating governmental agencies,*O and ex-members of these organizations,‘ psychological pressure, physical punishment, and/or violent threats are used against those who violate group norms or criticize the cult. It is the purpose of this paper to develop a clearer understanding of these phenomena by reviewing and discussing the research, theories, and explanations of behavioral scientists that are relevant. Recently, there has been some empirical research directly related to cult

Personal Reflections on Hugh Mullan: Existential Group Therapist

Abstract This article reviews the work of the psychiatrist Hugh Mullan, a pioneer of modern group therapy. Heavily influenced by existential philosophy, Hugh Mullan applied notions from that perspective to his innovative and unorthodox approach. Central to this was an early, indeed prescient, advocacy for the use of the therapist’s personal subjectivity, striving for mutuality, and non-rational experience in the conduct of psychotherapy. This way of thinking was not in accord with prevailing theories throughout most of his life as a practitioner (1946–1986); Hugh Mullan was not considered a mainstream theorist in his time. However, contemporary relational theorists have begun to give these ideas a great deal of attention, offering validation and support for his original insights. This writer recalls, as well, his experience of Hugh Mullan as a therapist and mentor.

Introduction to the special section on contemporary theoretical developments and the implications for group psychotherapy.

A cluster of new ideas influencing many disciplines, including psychology and psychotherapy, have emerged in recent times. The four articles presented in this special section address and illustrate some of these ideas as they manifest themselves in the practice of group psychotherapy. The articles were first presented as papers at the American Group Psychotherapy Association conference held in Los Angeles in February 2000. I would like to thank the authors for the work involved in preparing their papers for presentation at that conference, and for their subsequent work in developing them for publication in this special section of the journal. These articles, representing a sample of contemporary thinking about psychotherapy, make it clear that the discipline of psychotherapy is undergoing a significant shift from an exclusively objectivist and rational scientific model toward a more expansive stance where the subjective, the spiritual, the intuitive, and the power of unconscious forces are now being given serious consideration by many clinicians. Linear causality, for instance, long a mainstay of traditional science, is being challenged, if not replaced, by a growing nonlinear sensibility. Sy Rubenfeld demonstrates this sensibility in his article reviewing complexity theory. Nonlinear theories like this propose ideas such as input is not proportional to