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Presentation – Research and clinical application of group therapy within mental health services

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Since its creation in the forties, group psychotherapy has undergone various changes. Compared to its initial approach in fact, a variety of adaptations inspired by theoretical models and interventions have been implemented. Thus, we agree with Yalom (2005) who prefers to speak of group therapy sub-divided in various  settings: by illness (such as psychosis, eating disorders) to self help groups; from those conducted in prison to those conducted in a prestigious private setting; Cognitive-behavioral, psychoanalytic, psychodrama group therapy.
In this monograph for the Funzione Gamma journal edition, we discuss how the Mental Health Service in Italy and its counterparts abroad utilizes the different group interventions and models inspired by them. The collected papers not only offer the reader the evidence that public services meet the statutory mandate of care but that they also combine the valuable attributes of learning, of shared thought, experimentation and research. We must also add that “far from being just a setting, the institution enters into the life of the group and marks out its characteristics, potential and specific limits” (Patalano, 2014, p. 33).

On this premise, we have identified four different subject matters in the following articles inspired by the characteristics described above regarding groups conducted within the public health sector.

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Group dimensions in an Adult Mental Health Inpatient Unit

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Abstract

Human beings are immersed in group settings of one kind or another all life long and even when individual mental suffering exacerbates to the point of needing hospitalization, people find themselves sharing space, time and emotions with others. A mental health crisis breaks the individual and family balance and expresses itself with acute and extreme thoughts, emotions and behaviors. Psychiatric hospitalization, although traumatic, gives the patient and his/her relatives an opportunity of living all the alterations in a protected environment also offering them an explanation for these alterations. Clinicians aim to intervene as soon as possible after the onset of a crisis in order to enable the individual to overcome it and to return to normal functioning, Read more

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Set up and evolution of a rehabilitation group in a Therapeutic Community: Grounded Theory

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Abstract

Objective: people with severe mental illness lack in communication skills and social functioning but they do have needs, goals and dreams which can be promoted and empowered. The rehabilitation program employed in this report aims at enhancing the individual’s wellbeing and the social skills of the clients of a Therapeutic Community in Rome. Method: “Entertaining Knowledge Group” is a weekly atelier which was planned to strengthen the clients’ skills to organize cultural and recreational activities in Rome. We used an action research approach project (Hopkins, 1993) in order to monitor, to verify and to improve our practice. Results: main findings indicate clients’ clinical changes and increased social interactions after 10 months. Conclusions: results suggest that working on the reflections and on the proposals of the clients in an existing trustworthy group framework can enhance the healthy and Read more

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Transcript analysis of Multi-Family Psychoanalysis Group and action research in a public Therapeutic Community

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Abstract

This article presents the perspective of a group of authors regarding their action research into the use of group therapy as a means to treat severe psychotic states in a public psychiatric therapeutic community. After recording various Multi-family Psychoanalysis Group sessions and analyzing the transcripts of these recordings, the authors were able to implement their findings as a guideline Read more