THE USE OF EXTRAMURAL ACTIVITIES IN GROUP PSYCHO THERAPY WITH HOSPITALIZED FEMALE CHRONIC SCHIZOPHRENICS

Abstract

In recent years numerous techniques have been employed to increase the effectiveness of group psychotherapy with hospitalized chronic schizophrenics. Didactic material has been introduced to compensate for the patients' diminished spontaneity (1). Active participation by the therapist has been advocated to minimize the possibility of patients' withdrawing into their own autistic fantasies (2). Ancillary therapies have been used to foster the development of group cohesion (3). Chewing gum and chocolate have been made available to patients during the group session to satisfy their intense oral deprivation, and more significantly, to enable the patients to
receive food from the parental figure (therapist) and to partake of it in the family setting of the group (4).