Acknowledging Advances, Addressing Gaps: Commentary on the Revised AGPA Clinical Practice Guidelines.

Abstract

This review evaluates the second edition of the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Group Psychotherapy (American Group Psychotherapy Association, 2025), the first major revision since 2008. The scope of this undertaking-expanding from 10 sections to 11 chapters, integrating a substantially grown evidence base, and addressing transformations in how group treatment is delivered-is formidable, and the authors' commitment to this work deserves genuine recognition. The update substantially reconceptualizes six chapters, integrates multicultural and social justice content throughout, and adds a new chapter on online group therapy. The incorporation of the multicultural orientation framework and attention to how historically marginalized clients experience group treatment represent genuine advances. However, the integration of diversity, equity, and inclusion content proceeds without fully interrogating the foundational frameworks and evidence bases that remain largely unchanged-risking absorption rather than inclusion. The guidelines do not acknowledge that the underlying research base was generated predominantly with WEIRD populations, nor do they consistently distinguish empirically supported recommendations from clinical consensus. Greater transparency about where guidance runs ahead of the evidence, particularly in multicultural practice, would strengthen both the document's integrity and its pedagogical value. These limitations reflect challenges facing the field as a whole.