MKSSS SN COLLEGE OF NURSING

FOR WOMEN, NAGPUR

SUBJECT-
MENTAL HEALTH
NURSING -I

GROUP
THERAPY
SUBMITTED BY-
Ms. Rupali S Kharabe
M.Sc. 1st year
MKSSS SN College of
Nursing For Women.

SUBMITTED ON –

GROUP THERAPY
Group psychotherapy is a treatment in which carefully selected people who are emotionally ill meet in a
group guided by a trained therapist, and help one another effect personality change.

SELECTION

 Homogeneous groups.
 Adolescents and patients with personality disorders.
 Families and couples where the system needs change.

CONTRAINDICATIONS

 Antisocial patients.
 Actively suicidal or severely depressed patients.
 Patients who are delusional and who may incorporate the group into their delusional system.

GROUP SIZE

Optimal size for group therapy is 8 to 10 members.

FREQUENCY AND LENGTH OF SESSIONS

Most group psychotherapists conduct group sessions once a week; each session may last for 45 minutes to 1
hour.

APPROACHES TO GROUP THERAPY

 The therapist's role is primarily that of a facilitator; he should provide a safe, comfortable
atmosphere for self-disclosure.
 Focus on the ‘here and now’.
 Use any transference situations to develop insight into their problems.
 Protect members from verbal abuse or from scapegoating.
 Whenever appropriate, provide positive reinforcement, this gives ego support and encourages future
growth.
  Handle circumstantial patients, hallucinating and delusional patients in a manner that protects the
self-esteem of the individual and also sets limits on the behavior so as to protect other group
members.
 Develop ability to recognize when a group member is “fragile”; he should be approached in a gentle,
supportive and non-threatening manner.
 Use silence effectively to encourage introspection and facilitate insight.
 Laughter and a moderate amount of joking can act as a safety valve and at times can contribute to
group cohesiveness.
 Role-playing may help a member develop insight into the ways in which he relates to others.

THERAPEUTIC FACTORS INVOLVED IN GROUP THERAPY

These involve sharing experiences, support to and from group members, socialization, imitation and
interpersonal learning.

Sharing experience:

 This helps the patients to realize that they are not isolated and that others also have similar
experiences and problems.
 Hearing from other patients that they have shared experiences is often more convincing and helpful
than reassurance from the therapist.

Support to and from group members:

 Receiving help from other group members can be supportive to the person helped.
 The sharing action of being mutually supportive is an aspect of the group cohesiveness that can
provide a sense of belonging for patients who feel isolated in their everyday lives.

Socialization:

 It is acquisition of social skills (for example, maintaining eye contact) within a group through
comments that members provide about one another's deficiencies in social skills.
 This process can be helped by trying out new ways of interacting within the safety of the group.

Imitation:

 It is learning from observing and adopting the behaviors of other group members.
 If the group is run well, patients imitate the adaptive behaviors of other group members.
Interpersonal learning:

 It refers to learning about difficulties in relationships by examining the interaction of individuals

with the other members of the group.

Guidelines and Rules for Group Therapy :

-Maintain Confidentiality.
It is essential that everything said in group therapy is kept private by all group members and leaders. Failing
to adhere to this rule can undermine trust within the group.

-Commitment to Attendance.
it is vital that each member attend every session, arrive on time, and stay for the entire session. Absence or
late arrival/early leaving can interrupt the whole group.

-No Socializing with Group Members.

Forming close friendships or bonds with group members can interfere with group success, especially
if members become hesitant to share information because of another group member.

-Communicate with Words, Not Actions.

People have different reactions to physical contact, so expressing yourself through words instead of physical
actions is an important rule to follow.
-Participate.
Group therapy doesn’t have much of a therapeutic effect if the members do not participate! The potential for
healing and growth rests on how much group members are able to connect, share, and learn from one
another. It is essential for all group members to truly participate for this treatment to be effective.

SOME TECHNIQUES USEFUL IN GROUP THERAPY

 Reflecting or rewarding comments of group members.

 Asking for group reaction to one member's statement.
 Asking for individual reaction to one member's statement.
 Pointing out any shared feelings within the group.
 Summarizing various points at the end of session.
 NURSES’ ROLES IN GROUPT HERAPY

Nurses explore the use of groups as a teaching method , a therapeutic method ,a therapeutic tool with clients
and a form of peer group supervision. Nurses participates as a leader in many formal and informal group
therapies.

 To identify group problems and select methods to solve those problems.

 Suggests new ideas.

 Seeks clarification.

 Ask for opinion to what the group is undertaking.

 Gives information shares experiences in relation to the group problems.

 Give opinion by stating ideas and values about group suggestions.

 Clarifies how ideas can work

 Orients the group on target by defining where the group is in relationship to its goal.

 Evaluates the accomplishment of the group in relation to its task.

 Motivates the group to greater productivity .

 Record the productive discussion.

 To strength , regulate and perpetuate the group members to function as whole group.

 Encourage and accepts the contributions of others.

 Reconciles differences between group members.

 Keeps communication open and provides encouraging remarks.

 Sets group goals and evaluate the functioning of the group.

 Observes the group discussion , gives feedback and interprets.

 Assumes more of an audience role but gives the feeling of being with group.

 To meet the needs of the group members it hampers group functioning that need to be aware of

Expresses aggressions, which deflates the status of individual and group accomplishment.

 Resists progress by arguing or disagreeing beyond reason.

 Admits error to maintain group harmony.

 Determine setting and size of the group.

 Choose frequency and length of group sessions.

 Select a therapist for the group.

 Formulates policy on group therapy with other therapeutic modalities.

 Formulating appropriate goals.

 Selecting patients who can perform the group task.

 Preparing patients who can perform group task.

 Preparing patients for group therapy.

 Explaining group members to maintain confidentiality of group discussion.

 Identify and resolve common problems.

 Fix up time for the subsequent sessions.

 Maintain attendance of group members.

 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, one may say that group therapy plays a major role in the rehabilitation of the mentally ill
individual. Group therapy gives an opportunity for immediate feedback from a patient's peer and a chance
for both patient and therapist to observe the patient's psychological, emotional and behavioural response
towards a variety of people.

Group therapy is a very effective avenue in the treatment of addiction and compulsive behavior. Through
group therapy, individuals receive specialized care and support about their prevailing conditions. During
group therapy, individuals relate their predicament to group members in reaching a viable solution.

Thus, it helps the patient to master communication and interpersonal skills, problem solving, decision
making and assertive skills, thus enabling him to re-enter the society's mainstream with a greater degree of
confidence.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 R.Sreevani a guidebook to mental health ansd psychiatric nursing JAYPEE

 D. Elakkuvana Bhaskara Raj DEBR”S mental health nursing EMMESS

 https://www.scribd.com/presentation/481512904/GROUP-THERAPY-pptx

 https://www.scribd.com/presentation/689705131/Group-Therapy

 https://www.jaypeedigital.com/eReader/chapter/9789352500475/preliminary

 https://www.shsu.edu/dept/counseling/documents/Intro%20to%20Group%20Therapy

%20Handout.pdf