Mark F. Ettin

Managing group process in nonprocess groups: Working with the theme-centered psychoeducational group

While there has been a recent proliferation of groups for consultative and psychoeducational purposes, little has been written about using the group process in these nonprocess groups. This paper investigates the management of various group processes in a group whose contracted focus is teaching stress management skills. Distinctions are made between psychotherapeutic and theme-centered psychoeducational process management. Many group processes can be predicted given the groups normal developmental stages, while other ongoing group processes arise spontaneously. A working dialogue between the presented content and the emerging process is necessary in order for psychoeducation to be personalized and most fully assimilated. A clinical vignette follows the evolution of a stress management group conducted for high-level executives who have been identified as manifesting Type-A behaviors. For each session, the format and material content are briefly outlined, the emerging group process is described, and the clinical interventions involved in the process management are discussed.

Self-structure and self-transformation in group psychotherapy.

This article first outlines a theory of self-structure as a hierarchically organized multiplicity of versions of self. It then describes self-transformation as a two-part process: (Part 1) the articulation and strengthening of individual self-boundaries, and (Part 2) the reclaiming of split-off, denied, or projected aspects of self. Clinically, both parts are products of the communicative interaction among members, the therapist, and the group as a whole. A parallel conception of group development posits that the group, as an object and as a social system, also needs to: (a) articulate and strengthen its boundaries so that it may (b) contain the sustained interdependent, sometimes conflictual, interactivity among members that is essential to the self-reclaiming process.

From identified patient to identifiable group: the alchemy of the group as a whole.

ABSTRACT Group-as-a-whole theory is a relational paradigm of some complexity. Despite the growing popularity of this perspective, there is abiding confusion about the essence of group-as-a-whole practice and whether the approach attends sufficiently to members and part processes. The threefold aims of this article are to (a) show how group-centered thinking differs essentially from traditional psychodynamic theory that relies heavily on familial dynamics, interpretation, and transference analysis; (b) present the mind-set and working principles for a generic treatment that specifically utilizes collective forces generated in the context of the group matrix; and (c) compare and contrast the thrust of recent dyadic relational therapies with group therapy generally and the group-as-a-whole approach more particularly. The relationship between the whole (group) and its parts (members and what they bring) is detailed and demonstrated as it appears in the context of fused, affiliated, fragmented, and differentiated groups.

Harnessing the Power of the Group for Latency-aged Sexual Abuse Victims

Abstract For children who have been sexually abused, group therapy is often a preferred treatment modality. Although much consideration has been given to what structured activities, goals, and objectives should be included in groups for sexually abused children, limited attention has been paid to the dynamics and processes inherent in the group. This article follows the dynamic unfolding of a short-term structured group for latency-aged, female sexual abuse victims. Special emphasis is placed on listening to the messages underlying children’s actions and responding to the message rather than suppressing or limiting the behavior. It is argued that by attending to group dynamics and processes in a theme-focused group, structured activities become more effective and the power of the group can be harnessed to foster opportunities for healing that otherwise might go unrecognized.

From one to another: Group consultation for group psychotherapy

Supervisees and consultees may take their groups and the feelings associated with them to another group for clinical advice. Crucial to the practice of consultation is the perplexing question of how material is carried from one group to another. This paper presents a model, with illustrative vignettes, of a consultative sequence that relies on the conveyance of subjective as well as objective data. As the presenter tells about his or her therapy group, the members of the consultant or supervisory group experience reactions that mirror, parallel, or identify with dynamic processes that originated in the first place. In response to the creative interaction between presenter, presented, and receivers, the consultation group can arrive at formulations that provide the consultee with new understandings and action plans. This protocol can be used for single-session consultations or adapted for ongoing group supervision.

Do you know where your group is? development of a group-as-a-whole compass. Part I

A therapists ability to locate the essential dimensions of a group is a critical skill. The literature on group-as-a-whole theory and practice is a rich body of work that reveals a variety of discrete models and approaches with little coordination between them. This paper is an attempt at theory binding. A group-as-a-whole compass is introduced as a spherical motif to integrate varied conceptual understandings of whole-group functioning. The compass, by providing a metapsychological framework, is designed to orient the therapist and theoretician to the myriad ways that group-centered configurations come to life and can be known.

The spirit of Jungian group psychotherapy: from taboo to totem.

Practitioners of analytical psychology were late in coming to the practice of group psychotherapy because Carl Jung effectively forbade the treatment of individuals in stranger groups. This article explores Jungs objections to group therapy and, by way of a conceptual review of the literature, expands on the practice that grew up proximate to his death. It is argued that Jungian theory is especially conducive to collective treatment because it is concerned with the relationship between oppositions (whether in persons or between people) and uses synthetic and symbolic processes to bring about an integration of the one with the many. For Jungians who espouse a theory of symbolic transformation, archetype, and myth, the group is embodied in individuals and can be accessed by working with individuals in groups.

Working Through a Psychotherapy Group's Political Cultures

Abstract Macropolitical evolution, starting with authoritarian monarchism, has moved through anarchistic transitions either to the totalitarianism of fascism and communism or to liberal and social democracy. We posit analogous micropolitical development in process-oriented therapy groups: “dependence” and “counterdependence” corresponding to monarchism and anarchism; and “independence” and “interdependence” to liberal and social democracy, respectively. Transition from counterdependence to independence and interdependence may be: (1) facilitated through group members’ cooperative experience of rebellion, or (2) blocked by collective identification, the internalization of dystopian or utopian fantasies that coalesce as “group–self” perceptions. We explore how group therapists work clinically with and through these several “political cultures” in the service of group and self transformation.

Group building: Developing protocols for psychoeducational groups

Short-term, focused and targeted groups have become a staple in the mental health field and in the general cultural intervention milieu. This paper presents a model for “group building” aimed at guiding the group leader in constructing, organizing and ordering such psychoeducational groups. This model is applicable to a range of themecentered groups, addressing a variety of specific symptoms, habits, developmental milestones, organizational problems, or normative life crises. First, the defining characteristics of psychoeducational groups will be discussed. Subsequently, the steps in building “group protocols” will be outlined, including the use of phase-specific group dynamics and curative variables. To demonstrate the utility and generalizability of the model, two populations with extremely diverse thematic foci, a latency incest and a smoking cessation group, will be used to illustrate the ordering of the group protocol and the building of appropriate didactic structures. This paper is intended as a companion to an earlier one in this journal (Ettin et al., 1987), which considered the management of group process in just these types of nonprocess groups.

Coming together and remaining a part: Development of a group-as-a-whole compass. Part II

Group-as-a-whole theory is an attempt to explain the collaboration and synergy that results when patients share their care. The art and science of treating individuals within psychotherapy groups is enriched by an understanding of the unique mediums3through which a group comes into being and the more general domains within which it comes to be known. This paper continues the development of a group-as-a-whole compass, as an integration of extant models and theories (Ettin, 1996). The focus shifts from conceptual and spatial models to an exploration of the cultural and relational processes that make up whole-group functioning. The paper comes full circle with hypotheses drawn about how a psychotherapy group, as a holistic phenomenon, is composed and maintained.