Therapeutic factors experienced by members of an out-patient therapy group for older women

Abstract

Abstract The Yalom curative factors Q-sort was administered to eight members of an out-patient therapy group for older women (average age 55 years), who were also interviewed on the group experiences they had viewed as helpful. Results indicated that Existential Awareness was seen as the most important curative or therapeutic mechanism by members of this group. This finding stands in contrast to other studies of out-patient groups, in which interpersonal factors have been widely reported as most helpful. The reasons for this distinctive finding are examined. Results also exhibited striking individual differences between members of the group in terms of the group processes they each found most therapeutic. The significance of these findings is discussed, both in relation to working with older women, and also with respect to methodological issues concerned with the use of the Yalom Q-sort technique.