No abstract

Small groups lasting eight sessions each and aimed at improving patient's interpersonal problem-solving skills were conducted for a total of 41 hospitalized psychiatric patients. Forty control patients received the same pre and posttests but notraining. Twenty-three patients participated in play-reading groups without problem-solving training (placebo condition). Three separate 3 by 2 repeated measures analyses of variance showed that hospitalization alone improved the patient's functioning on the criterion test of problem-solving, but the problem-solving training groups advanced the improvement significantly. More disturbed patients made only slightly greater gains than less disturbed ones. The hospital stay was significantly shorter for the experimental and the placebo groups than for the control sample.

Twenty-five adult patients of a private psychiatric hospital participated in small groups that convened for eight sessions in order to increase skills in interpersonal problem solving. The groups repeatedly went through the steps of (a) bringing up a problem; (b) clarifying it; (c) proposing solutions; and(d) weighing the solutions. A control grop of 29 patients did not receive problem-solving training. A "placebo" sample of 21 Ss also met in small groups, but their task was to read comedies together. The results obtained through a series of analyses of covariance showed that the experimental condition was more successful than the other two in improving people's impulse control, self-esteem and feeling of competence. The play-reading condition was found to be as helpful as the problem-solving groups in reducing depression and general psychopathology. Control patients showed significantly less improvement than did patients in the other conditions.

This investigation is based on over 400 American Group Psychotherapy Association members involved in 41 intensive, two-day training experiences for mental health professionals. The participants completed a questionnaire immediately after their group sessions to evaluate the process and leadership variables that contributed to a constructive learning experience. A similar questionnaire was mailed to participants three to four months later to explore the impact of training on group interventions within their clinical practices. One third of the trainees responded to the follow-up survey. Overall, the findings suggest that successful outcomes are related to a range of group processes, such as self-disclosure, feedback, and interpersonal support, as well as personal qualities and technical expertise modeled by the leaders of the training groups. Both the immediate and delayed assessments demonstrate that the groups were regarded as highly valuable learning opportunities.

mental hospital were assigned to either a brief interactive group therapy (GT) or to a cognitively oriented problem-solving training group (PST) during their short-term hospital stay. Forty-one participants completed this study (twenty males and twenty-one females); twenty-four were in the GT condition and seventeen in the PST condition. Results overall showed no superiority of one approach over the other, and men and women appeared to make the same gains. However, there was a significant interaction between gender and type of group: Women gained more from GT, men more from PST. Possible explanations of this finding and limitations of its generalizability are discussed.