Preparing Clients for Behavioral Group Therapy

The behavioral model: Social skills training.

“…Because there is little agreement on a single conceptual framework for understanding and implementing the behavioral group approach, clinicians have applied, part-and-parcel, a variety of theoretical systems to understand the central aspects of behavioral group therapy; they have approached it mainly from an empirical and applied perspective (Hollander & Kazaoka, 1988). In this regard, behavioral group therapists view the treatment as a therapy implemented in or by a group that makes use of principles of learning as the core of its intervention strategies (Cohn & Mayerson, 1985). The operant conditioning approach is one of most well-known and straightforward methods for changing behavior.…”

“…Although the evidence to support the efficacy of group preparation is equivocal (Cohn & Mayerson, 1985), preparation for the group experience is likely to result in more effective and efficient learning. Preparation should communicate a rationale for group treatment; provide instruction on appropriate patient behaviors (e.g., homework, giving constructive feedback, sharing personal information, behaving rather than talking, and the importance of observing and imitating others); and help the patient develop positive expectations about the effect that the group experience will have on his or her behavior by, for example, citing positive research findings (Cohn & Mayerson, 1985;Sundel & Sundel, 1985).…”