EPA-0344 – Psychodynamic Group Psychotherapy: A Proposition For a New Method

Abstract

Backgrounds:

in psychodynamic group psychotherapy it is used to divide patients in different groups with direct access and/or after preliminary individual sessions. Since 2003 our research group started a new method. Aim of this study was to assess the value of this new methodology.

Material and methods:

we use: psychodynamic approach, 10–14 patients, open access for pathology, age, sex, starting and ending. Therapy begins with individual sessions. Therapy deals with symptoms, intra-psychic conflicts, and private issues. Meanwhile psychiatrist develops relational capacity of the patient, allowing him to enter group therapy. We continue, at the same time, with individual and group therapy, for a time different for each case. Then therapy continues in the group only, until its ends. The duration of the three steps is variable, but the total amount of time of the therapeutic approach is reduced by half in 10 years.

Results:

Efficiency of this method is divided in three points. 1) Advantages for the single patient in the group: improvement of patient privacy; decrease of transferal resistance, acting-out and drop-out; economic advantages. 2) Advantages for group dynamics: decrease of aggressive behavior and interpersonal conflicts, improving of climate group; attenuation of hierarchal levels among patients, manipulation, fabrication, selfpity, narcissism. 3) Advantages for psychiatrist: continuous monitoring of the new patient or ‘difficult’ or risky patients with decrease of countertrasfert issues.

Conclusions:

This methodology is an effective alternative to the usual group therapy. It allows a thorough and solid approach to the patient, offering a larger possibility of patient recovery.