Therapeutic factors in group psychotherapy for patients diagnosed with psychosis

Abstract

The study of group therapy factors began in the mid-1950s when Corsini and Rosenberg reviewed more than 300 articles on group psychotherapy, with the goal of ordering and classifying the essential mechanisms for therapeutic success. The three therapeutic factors considered as most useful for the inpatients were hope, cohesion and altruism. For the outpatients these were hope, self-understanding and universality. The only statistically significant differences were found in the self-understanding factor and cohesion. Altruism offers the possibility to help others and thus learn about one's own feelings and positive aspects. The second study compared groups of psychotic outpatients in accordance with their grade of insight. Regardless of the grade of insight, the most valued factor was instillation of hope and the least rated was identification. In groups of patients with psychosis, desingularisation allows them to stop feeling they are the only ones who experience unique realities and identities.