{"title":"Blood from a Stone: A Rough Guide for Group Therapy Implementation in Community Mental Healthcare.","authors":"Jeff Brand, Eun Jeong Yang","doi":"10.1080/00207284.2026.2653225","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00207284.2026.2653225","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Despite its demonstrated efficacy, group therapy remains underutilized in community mental health centers (CMHCs), where structural barriers and a chronic shortfall of funds impede implementation. This article examines the disconnect between academic research and the financial, organizational, and policy constraints that shape care in safety-net settings. Drawing from direct experience at a CMHC serving marginalized populations, we offer a financial analysis that illustrates how current reimbursement models create steep challenges for sustaining group therapy. Guided by domain theory, we present practice-based strategies-including standardized group formats, continuity-focused structures, and clinician cross-training-that respond to barriers across service, management, and policy domains. Rather than proposing one-size-fits-all solutions, we share adaptable frameworks rooted in the realities of CMHC work. We argue for a more context-sensitive approach to implementation-one that takes seriously the questions of access, sustainability, and equity that define group work in underresourced settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":46441,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Group Psychotherapy","volume":" ","pages":"1-25"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147785256","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lisa Brownstone Libby, Erin N Harrop, Jade Cool, Devin A Kelly-Barnett, Hannah N Norling, Katherine L Daley, D Martin Kivlighan
{"title":"We Deserve Space: A Pilot Outcomes Study of a Group Psychotherapy Intervention for Internalized Weight Stigma.","authors":"Lisa Brownstone Libby, Erin N Harrop, Jade Cool, Devin A Kelly-Barnett, Hannah N Norling, Katherine L Daley, D Martin Kivlighan","doi":"10.1080/00207284.2025.2600103","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00207284.2025.2600103","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Experienced and internalized weight stigma (IWS) are associated with a plethora of health and psychosocial consequences. In this study, we tested the outcomes of a 10-12 week, online, counselor-facilitated support group (We Deserve Space; WDS) for individuals who had experienced weight stigma. Twenty-five large-bodied individuals participated in three iterations of the WDS group. Participants average age was 43.68 years (SD = 13.84, range = 28-78). Revisions to WDS curricula were made iteratively in response to feedback. Paired samples t-tests yielded statistically significant improvements on all variables (IWS, antifat attitudes, depressive symptoms, loneliness, eating-disorder functional impairment, belongingness) from baseline to end-of-group, with effect sizes in the medium to large range. This study provides preliminary evidence that WDS may improve IWS, disordered-eating functional impairment, and psychosocial well-being in large-bodied individuals.</p>","PeriodicalId":46441,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Group Psychotherapy","volume":" ","pages":"336-373"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146150004","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Pilot Study of Solution-Focused Goal-Settings Group Counseling on Adolescent Students.","authors":"Ezgi Sancak, Serdar Körük, Ali Ammar Kurt","doi":"10.1080/00207284.2025.2557289","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00207284.2025.2557289","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aim of this pilot study was to examine the effect of a solution-focused goal-setting group counseling program on the academic procrastination, academic self-efficacy, and goal commitment levels of 8th grade Turkish students. A quasi-experimental design was used to asses 17 students (7 students in experimental group, 10 students in control group) for 8 weeks. The results revealed that, compared to the control group, students in the experimental group showed a significant increase in goal commitment and academic self-efficacy, as well as a significant decrease in academic procrastination. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":46441,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Group Psychotherapy","volume":" ","pages":"311-335"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145287247","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Use of Self-Disclosure in Group Therapy: Engaging Social Enactments in Modern Group Treatment.","authors":"Ellen L Wright","doi":"10.1080/00207284.2026.2633151","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00207284.2026.2633151","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This paper was originally a panel discussion at the Annual American Group Psychotherapy Association 2025 Conference. Working with enactments of social oppression in groups presents special challenges for group leaders trained to work exclusively within a developmental model. When the group attends to issues of social power, the leader can be seen not only as a transferential figure but also as a representative of an oppressive social class. This shift from developmental to social transference often stimulates anxiety in the group leader, who then struggles with this charged transference. This article describes the author's personal journey to identify how implicit bias enabled her to work with the tension that arises as identity differences and social power become the focus of the group. Case examples illustrate how rigorous self-reflection and study enabled the group leader to use self-disclosure to highlight and resolve difficult social enactments.</p>","PeriodicalId":46441,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Group Psychotherapy","volume":" ","pages":"402-415"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147515638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Disclosure and Empathy in a Group Teletherapy Setting.","authors":"Jesse Gamoran, Susan Bodnar, Nyssa L Snow-Hill","doi":"10.1080/00207284.2026.2641437","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00207284.2026.2641437","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Increased utilization after COVID-19, emerging effectiveness, and myriad benefits for clients and clinicians warrant further research on group teletherapy. Personal disclosure and empathy have been found to improve treatment effectiveness by increasing clients' abilities to function well in interpersonal settings. This study explored whether disclosure and empathy changed over time within group teletherapy for emerging adults. Group teletherapy notes were coded for initial disclosures, empathic responses, and similar disclosures to measure participants' levels of disclosure and empathy. Although participants made consistently frequent initial disclosures, engagement from fellow participants increased gradually through empathic responses and similar disclosures. This study reveals that group teletherapy may be a realistic modality for promoting interpersonal skills such as disclosure and empathy among emerging adults with mental illness.</p>","PeriodicalId":46441,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Group Psychotherapy","volume":" ","pages":"257-278"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147655088","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Remote but Together: Online Group Supervision During the COVID-19 Pandemic.","authors":"Keren Hanetz-Gamliel, Yehoshuah Akerman, Shulamit Geller","doi":"10.1080/00207284.2025.2567408","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00207284.2025.2567408","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The COVID-19 pandemic's impact on higher education, particularly the shift to distance learning, is examined in this study. Psychology graduate students' subjective experiences of online group supervision are explored, and the pandemic's influence on their learning is analyzed. Thematic analysis and computer-assisted qualitative data analysis of 14 student interviews reveal three distinct themes: (a) the presence of complex and ambivalent emotions; (b) significant influences of the online setting's characteristics on student experiences, including formal and limited communication, disembodied interactions, and distractions; and (c) unique interactions within the online supervision matrix involving supervisors and peers, as revealed through a group-analytic approach. The findings highlight the relationship between online settings and psychological processes during crises, offering insights to refine online supervision practices in an evolving social world.</p>","PeriodicalId":46441,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Group Psychotherapy","volume":" ","pages":"230-256"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145423197","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Aggression, the Often Maligned Life Force Crucial in Healing Internalized Misogyny: Implications for Group Psychotherapy.","authors":"Jeanne Bunker","doi":"10.1080/00207284.2025.2570295","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00207284.2025.2570295","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article is a product of the American Group Psychotherapy Association Annual Conference, Connect! 2025. The article reconceptualizes aggression as a neutral life force that can be utilized to heal internalized misogyny, contrasting with Freudian views of aggression as inherently destructive. It examines how misogynistic cultural messaging leads individuals to redirect aggression inward, through the narcissistic defense, creating self-critical patterns that reinforce oppressive norms. Group psychotherapy is particularly well-suited to address problems with aggression, misogyny, and internalized misogyny. Through theoretical analysis and clinical examples, the author demonstrates how embracing aggression transforms self-attacking patterns into empowered self-expression. The intersection of psychological analysis with sociopolitical context is presented as essential for addressing both personal suffering and systemic oppression. This framework offers clinicians a path to help clients develop conscious relationships with their aggressive energy, creating possibilities for individual healing of internalized misogyny and fostering social change.</p>","PeriodicalId":46441,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Group Psychotherapy","volume":" ","pages":"374-401"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145472025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Looking at the Therapeutic Change Through a Textual Analysis: Evidence from an Online Group Analytic Treatment.","authors":"S Bruno, I Mastropietro, L Todini, P Velotti","doi":"10.1080/00207284.2025.2538019","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00207284.2025.2538019","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The expansion and consolidation of group therapy in online settings has generated, and continues to generate, significant debate, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities of this transition. This study aims to explore the main themes and underlying latent dimensions of a psychodynamic group psychotherapy conducted online. Forty-two clinical reports from a group of nine patients who participated in the first nine months of online group therapy were analyzed using qualitative textual analysis with T-Lab software. The analysis was carried out in two phases to capture both differences and the longitudinal development of the therapeutic process, comparing T1 (the first four months of therapy) and T2 (months four through nine). Utilizing the Psychodynamic Analysis of Narratives for Multiple Interpretative Levels (PAMIL), the study identified key latent themes, including the formation of the therapeutic alliance, the development of group cohesion, and the processes of sharing and comparing emotional experiences. The qualitative analysis of clinical session reports proved to be an effective method for investigating the less explicit dimensions of group dynamics in the online setting. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the specific processes activated in virtual psychodynamic group therapy and underscore the value of narrative material as a tool for both clinical and research purposes.</p>","PeriodicalId":46441,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Group Psychotherapy","volume":" ","pages":"193-229"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144973903","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Daniel C R Gulassa, Roberta S Amaral, Daniela Lopes Angelo, Elen C Oliveira, Cristiano N de Abreu, Hermano Tavares
{"title":"Psychodrama Group Therapy for Excoriation Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial with a Bayesian Analysis.","authors":"Daniel C R Gulassa, Roberta S Amaral, Daniela Lopes Angelo, Elen C Oliveira, Cristiano N de Abreu, Hermano Tavares","doi":"10.1080/00207284.2025.2551504","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00207284.2025.2551504","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Excoriation disorder (ED) involves uncontrollable skin picking, not explained by a dermatologic or other psychological conditions. ED is associated with emotion regulation impairment, psychosocial distress, and psychiatric comorbidities. This study investigated the efficacy of psychodrama group therapy (PGT) in reducing ED symptoms. A randomized controlled trial compared psychodrama group therapy (PGT, n = 26) and support group therapy (SGT, n = 27) as a control. The comparison included ED severity, psychosocial impact, emotion regulation, depression, anxiety, social adjustment, and general clinical status. Bayesian ANOVA models showed improvement in skin excoriation (BF<sub>incl</sub> = 1.15e + 7), emotional regulation (BF<sub>incl</sub> = 258.12), depression (BF<sub>incl</sub> = 89.73), impact of excoriation (BF<sub>incl</sub> = 71.69) and anxiety (BF<sub>incl</sub> = 20.27) over time for both groups. PGT was not more effective than SGT, but group psychotherapy is a valuable treatment option for ED.</p>","PeriodicalId":46441,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Group Psychotherapy","volume":" ","pages":"279-310"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145201767","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Haley E Williamson, Jordan Stahly, Nathaniel G Wade
{"title":"Deaf and Hard of Hearing Clients in Mixed-Ability Psychotherapy Groups: Therapist Perspectives and Practical Insights.","authors":"Haley E Williamson, Jordan Stahly, Nathaniel G Wade","doi":"10.1080/00207284.2025.2552887","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00207284.2025.2552887","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Deaf and hard of hearing (D/HOH) individuals experience higher rates of mental health disorders and face significant barriers when accessing services, particularly in group therapy settings. This study investigates group therapists' perspectives on incorporating D/HOH clients into mixed-ability therapy groups predominantly composed of hearing individuals. Using a mixed-methods design, this study compares the experiences of therapists who have facilitated such groups with the perceptions of those who have not. Qualitative results highlight perceived barriers for therapists without experience working with D/HOH members, including concerns about group cohesion, communication challenges, and interpreter integration. Therapists with experience working with D/HOH members identified the benefits of mixed-ability groups, such as increased empathy, cultural learning, and strengthened group connections. These findings emphasize the need for expanded training, practical accommodations, and cultural competency development to ensure inclusive and effective group therapy for all.</p>","PeriodicalId":46441,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Group Psychotherapy","volume":" ","pages":"163-189"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145193381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}