Perceived Effectiveness of Therapeutic Factors for ACOAs and Non-ACOAs in Heterogeneous Psychotherapy Group

Abstract

Adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) have come under the scrutiny of therapists and researchers interested in understanding if these individuals comprise a special client population that might require specific therapeutic factors ACOAs perceive as the most helpful to them in psychotherapy groups as compared to non- ACOAs being treated concurrently in the same groups. The subjects were 92 group members (48 ACOAs and 44 non- ACOAs) who were participating in ongoing heterogeneous outpatient psychotherapy groups. Each subject completed Yalom's 60 item, seven pile "therapeutic factors" Q-sort- The Hotelling's T square was used to compare the means of the two groups. There were no significant difference among ACOAs and non- ACOAs in the perceived importance of the therapeutic factors. Self-understanding, cohesion, catharsis, and interpersonal learning were the factors most valued and instillation of hope, altruism, guidance, and identification were the least important factors for both ACOAs and non-ACOAs. The results suggest that whether or not ACOAs are a distinctive personality and clinical population their therapeutic needs in groups may not differ from non-ACOP6.