Group-Analytic Psychotherapy

This book offers practitioners, teachers and students of psychotherapy a detailed and comprehensive account of group analysis. It demystifies the workings of analytic groups and looks at the great stretch of issues and tasks confronting the therapist in the practice of group analytic psychotherapy. Each stage in the process is fully discussed: the assessment and preparation of patients for groups, dynamic administration, beginning and ending a group, and the introduction of new members into an established group. A chapter on psychopathology gives a picture of the main psychiatric conditions which the group therapist is likely to encounter, and offers clear guidelines on how to manage them in a group context. An exposition on the group in full flow provides an unusual insight into the processes which constitute the analytic culture, including the analysis of dreams, the art of interpreting, use of the transference and countertransference, and the place of play, humour and metaphor.
Difficult and challenging scenarios, such as dropping out, scapegoating, the silent group member, and monopolisation of the group are treated in depth, as are Large Groups, homogeneous groups, groups for children and adolescents, family therapy, groups in non-clinical settings, and the supervision of group therapy. The impingement of the therapist' s own personal issues is also given attention.
The authors have flanked their narrative with accounts of the historical, social and cultural origins of group analysis, and a vision of the future provided by the newer strands of thinking in the field. The text is enlivened by colourful vignettes drawn from the authors' own experiences, and by sharply focused dialogues between the two authors, designed to illustrate their contrasting and complementary perspectives.
The book represents a distillation of the authors' long experience in the field of group analytic practice and training in the United Kingdom and internationally.

Foreword vii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction x
The Authors xv
Chapter 1 The Social And Cultural Basis Of Group Analysis 1
Chapter 2 A Century Of Group Therapy 12
Chapter 3 Planning An Analytic Group 28
Chapter 4 Dynamic Administration 42
Chapter 5 The Assessment Interview 55
Chapter 6 The Symptom In Its Group Context 66
Chapter 7 The Start Of A New Group 81
Chapter 8 A Newcomer To The Group 92
Chapter 9 The Group In Action 102
Chapter 10 Life Events In The Group 121
Chapter 11 Bringing Therapy To An End 133
Chapter 12 Therapeutic Pitfalls 144
Chapter 13 Challenging Scenarios 150
Chapter 14 The Group Analyst In Trouble 164
Chapter 15 The Large Group 175
Chapter 16 All In The Same Boat: The Value Of Homogeneous Groups 189
Chapter 17 Groups For Children And Adolescents 203
Chapter 18 Family Therapy: A Group-Analytic Perspective 220
Chapter 19 The Application Of Group Analysis To Non-Clinical Settings 231
Chapter 20 The Supervision Of Group Therapy 237
Chapter 21 The Group Analyst As A Professional 247
Chapter 22 The Changing Landscape Of Group Analysis 255
Glossary 269
Bibliography 271
Index 295