METHODOLOGY AND EVALUATION IN GROUP PSYCHOTHERAPY

Abstract

The scope of this paper is to examine the methodology of evaluating group psychotherapy and to report upon an experiment in a group psycho-therapeutic process where some of these evaluation procedures were applied. This investigation is also a reflection of some of the potential functions of therapy in a non-treatment situation where it is synthethized with some of the ideas stemming from social action and group dynamics.

Psychotherapy as a whole and group therapy in particular has reached that stage in its development where armchair speculation, testimonials by patients or therapists and reports of cases begin to have decreasing value. Unfortunately this method of reporting usually lacks a general frame of reference that is shared by the majority of readers making precise communication of results and generalization of the findings through further work extremely difficult.