Group Psychotherapy Training and Effectiveness

Abstract

This study surveyed accredited programs in psychiatry, psychology, and social work, replicating and extending previous work in group training. Results detail the curriculum, group faculty/student participation, and predicted future therapy trends in four different formats of group treatment. The number of group courses in the curriculum, the number required, and the percent of students participating in these courses significantly varies among the three disciplines, indicating a discrepancy among those disciplines responsible for training in group therapy regarding the value and role of group training. Consensus does exist among the disciplines in forecasting that individual therapy will decrease and group treatment will increase, but what programs deliver in their training does not coincide with their predicted trends for group therapy use in the future. Ratings of the differential effectiveness of the four group modalities vs. individual are not consistent with empirical evidence. Results call for consensual clarity, accord of values and knowledge, and the integration of science, training, and practice across the three disciplines.