Focused Brief Group Therapy in Practice

In Focused Brief Group Therapy in Practice, Dr. Whittingham demonstrates a condensed version of the typical focused brief group therapy process.

Focused brief group therapy is a semi structured, integrative interpersonal approach to group therapy that uses formal assessment to guide and inform treatment. Although it draws on principles that come from longer-term therapy, focused brief group therapy uses a series of techniques to activate the mechanisms of change in a far shorter time. Dr. Whittingham first demonstrates an individual client pre-group session and then holds a group therapy session, allowing viewers to see how working in a group setting can be beneficial to each individual. As the group members work together and share feedback with each other, it becomes clear just how important interpersonal relationships are in personal growth. The demonstration in this video is framed by an informative discussion with the guest therapist hosted by Dr. Cheri Marmarosh.

The demonstrations in this video feature actors portraying clients on the basis of a composite of cases.

Focused brief group therapy is a semistructured, integrative interpersonal approach to group therapy that uses formal assessment to guide and inform treatment. Although it draws on principles that come from longer-term therapy, focused brief group therapy uses a series of techniques to activate the mechanisms of change in a far shorter time.

Martyn Whittingham, PhD, CGP, FAPA, FAGPA, is a licensed psychologist in Ohio and a consultant with a private practice. He has received national awards for group practice (with Dr. Erin Frick) in 2010, from the Association for Specialists in Group Work and for teaching group dynamics from APA (2021). He is the former president of Division 49 of the APA (2020) and is a former chair of the American Group Psychotherapy Association’s Science to Service Task Force.

He has authored numerous book chapters and journal articles and regularly presents on focused brief group therapy throughout the United States, China, the United Kingdom and Singapore. Dr. Whittingham is a fellow of both APA and AGPA.

He lives in Cincinnati where he derives the greatest joy from moments spent with his wife and daughter and their cat Envelope.

APA Books

Focused Brief Group Therapy: An Integrative Approach to Reducing Interpersonal Distress
Martyn Whittingham, PhD

The Psychology of Groups: The Intersection of Social Psychology and Psychotherapy Research
Craig D. Parks, PhD, and Giorgio A. Tasca, PhD

Attachment in Group Psychotherapy
Cheri Marmarosh, PhD, Rayna Markin, PhD, and Eric B. Spiegel, PhD

Group Development in Practice: Guidance for Clinicians and Researchers on Stages and Dynamics of Change
Virginia Brabender, PhD, and April E. Fallon, LCSW

Group Psychotherapy in Inpatient, Partial Hospital, and Residential Care Settings
Virginia Brabender, PhD, and April E. Fallon, LCSW