Group Psychotherapy in Inpatient, Partial Hospital, and Residential Care Settings

Group psychotherapy can be daunting, especially for students and others who have not led groups before. Choosing a model of therapy can be especially tricky.

The best therapy, as Virginia Brabender and April Fallon explain in this book, is one that meshes well with the needs of the patient population, the therapist, and the environment in which treatment is taking place. They also emphasize the key role of process — the interactions between and among group members and the therapist — in the mechanics of group psychotherapy.

For each approach — interpersonal, psychodynamic, cognitive behavior, acceptance and commitment, problem solving, and behavioral therapies — the authors examine theoretical underpinnings, characteristic interventions, relevant research, strengths and weaknesses across different clinical contexts, and the unique demands of the therapy setting.

Using vivid clinical vignettes, the Brabender and Fallon demonstrate how therapists can choose, adapt, and implement the model most suited for their group.

Watch a video with the authors

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Group Psychotherapy Today
2. Contextual Dimensions
3. The Interpersonal Model
4. Psychodynamic Family of Models
5. Cognitive Behavior Therapy
6. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy–Group
7. The Problem-Solving Model
8. The Behavioral Model: Social Skills Training
9. The Six Models: A Comparative Analysis

Index

About the Authors

Virginia Brabender, PhD, ABPP (Cl), is a faculty member in Widener University's Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology.

She is recognized by Widener as a Distinguished Professor (2017–2019) and is a fellow of APA Divisions 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology) and 49 (Society of Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy), of the American Group Psychotherapy Association, and the of the Society for Personality Assessment.

She received her baccalaureate degree from the University of Dayton (1971) and a doctorate in psychology from Fordham University (1976).

In addition to her work with Dr. April Fallon, she has authored Introduction to Group Therapy (2002), coedited The Handbook of Gender and Sexuality in Psychological Assessment (2016), and written numerous articles on ethics in professional psychology.

She is on the Editorial Committee of the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy.

April Fallon, PhD, is a faculty member in clinical psychology at Fielding Graduate University and a clinical professor in psychiatry at Drexel College of Medicine.

She received her baccalaureate degree from Allegheny College (1975) and a doctorate in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania (1981). She has received numerous awards for her teaching of psychiatry residents, including the Psychiatric Educator 2012 from Philadelphia Psychiatric Society.

In addition to her work with Dr. Brabender, she has researched and written on the development of disgust in children and adults, body image and eating disorders, the effects of childhood maltreatment, and attachment and adoption. Along with her academic appointments, she maintains a private practice in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.

Virginia Brabender and April Fallon have coauthored four books: Models of Inpatient Group Psychotherapy (1993), Essentials of Group Therapy (2004), Group Development in Practice: Guidance for Clinicians and Researchers on Stages and Dynamics of Change (2009), and The Impact of Parenthood on the Therapeutic Relationship: Awaiting the Therapist's Baby (2nd ed., 2018). They coedited Working With Adoptive Parents: Research, Theory, and Therapeutic Interventions (2013).

In this valuable text, Brabender and Fallon discuss various models of group psychotherapy, including supportive research. They believe that a psychotherapy model should fit patients, the treatment environment, and the therapist — choice is possible even in a world where treatment intervals are shrinking.
—Dominick Grundy, PhD
Fellow, American Group Psychotherapy Association, and former editor of the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy

It's not easy to surpass a classic with a newer version, but Brabender and Fallon do precisely that. In this impressive and much-welcomed revision of their first work, they do a masterful job of describing six carefully selected models of group psychotherapy and matching these models to particular treatment environments. They break down each model into component elements and offer compelling illustrations of the models in action in the form of transcripts that can be readily acted out by students of group therapy.
—Joseph J. Shay, PhD, CGP, LFAGP
Private Practice; Lecturer on Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA