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