Client perception of hindering factors in group psychotherapy and growth groups: no growth without pain? An empirical exploration

Abstract

As part of the Leuven Group Psychotherapy Process Study, a questionnaire to assess group participants’ perceptions of hindering factors in group sessions was administered to 489 members of 78 psychotherapy and experiential learning groups of client-centered/experiential, psychoanalytic, behavioral, Gestalt, drama- and body-oriented orientations. In this article we focus on the specific meaning and impact of these hindering factors. Within this inquiry the following questions are empirically investigated: To what degree do group members experience these hindering factors and to what degree do they experience them as harmful? How do these hindering factors relate to therapeutic factors and to intermediate outcome ratings? Are they experienced differently as a function of severity of group members’ problems and as a function of therapeutic orientation? The central finding of the study points to the ambiguous character of hindering factors and their potential to become converted into corrective therapeutic experiences.