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The unique benefits for group therapy are examined with special emphasis on the treatment of blacks and Latinos. Because of racial prejudice, economic exploitation, and negative stereotypes, group forces have been especially detrimental to the personality development of people of color. The group therapist attempts to harness these powerful group forces and use them therapeutically, thus enabling people of color to relate better to others while retaining their own autonomy. Racial differences can intensely affect diagnosis, transference, countertransference, and the "real relationship." Distinctions between cultural and functional paranoia are particularly relevant in interracial groups. Implications for training group therapists are also explored.

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This paper emphasizes the potential of group forces for benefit or harm in group therapy as well as human development. Clinical, experimental-historical, and experiential After having some 25 years of experience doing group therapy as a relatively important portion of my professional life, I chose to reexamine the basis of my commitment to group therapy. The immediate questions that posed themselves were: 1) Why use group therapy at all? 2) How does group therapy work and how can it be made more effective? 3) Does group therapy work for everyone, and for whom is it most beneficial? 4) If group therapy is an appropriate treatment modality, when in the treatment process should someone be placed in group therapy?This paper represents the results of my emotional and intellectual soulsearching on the use of group therapy as a treatment modality. It is hoped that the results of my thinking will provide a useful guide to clinicians, supervisors, and instructors of group therapy.