SOCIOMETRY AND GROUP PSYCHOTHERAPY

Abstract

Success and failure in group psychotherapy are mostly determined by the selection of the patients and their right combination. The therapist must know the interactions of his patients. These interactions can be comprehended intuitively (instinktiv) or can be studied scientifically; the latter method can be applied through sociometry. According to Moreno, sociometry constitutes the mathematical presentation of psychic and social currents (Stroemunger) within a group, measured by experimental tests and quantitative methods: sociometry's task is the measurement of social impulses (Strebungen). The formation of a group is never accidental as the sociogram will prove: for the sociogram describes the interpersonal relationships (zwischenmenschliche Beziehungen) of people by means of a series of symbols.