M.A. (Psychology) / Group therapy is one of the range of applications of psychotherapies generally accepted in the practice of psychology today. The objective of this literature survey is to give a general overview of the theory and practice of group therapy. An overview of the development of the therapeutic use of groups, indicates that the original didactic, individually-orientated approach to groups, was influenced by a variety of theoretical viewpoints. The period following the Second World War was characterised by difficulty and controversy regarding the theoretical approach to groups, and it was only from the nineteen sixties onward that the social nature of human problems was acknowledged. Investigation into the development of group therapy revealed that a great deal of attention was given to the development of different theoretical models. Within the scope of this paper only the most important developmental aspects are covered, with specific emphasis on the theory of Yalom (1985). In the literature, Yalom is generally regarded as an important contributor to the development of group therapy, as his research, theory and practice accomplished an integration of the various group therapies. Yalom, in his approach, separates the group into front and core aspects. The front consists of the form, language and techniques of each of the schools of therapy, while the core described that which is intrinsic to the therapeutic process, namely the mechanisms of change. Yalom also emphasises the therapeutic factors necessary for effective group therapy, irrespective of the underlying theory or technique. This approach lends itself to be regarded as an integration theory.

M.A. (Clinical Psychology) / Family therapy offers an alternative to traditional psychotherapeutic ways of treatment. It becomes possible for the clinician to conceptualize the family as a system and to observe the patterns and interrelations in the family. Therapy is thus focused on the family as a whole and not on the individual in isolation. The family therapist sees maladaptive behaviour as functional for the family system in which it occurs, and aims therapeutic interventions at the family as a whole. The danger exists however, that because of his conceptualization, the family therapist can neglect the individual in therapy. The individual is seen mainly as a subsystem of the family and less attention is paid to the psychology of the individual. This can lead to a situation where the world of experience of the individual as well as the meaning of the symptomatology for the individual become neglected. This can lessen the effectiveness of family therapy and can lead to individuals feeling as if their experiences are not understood and their emotions not acknowledged. Through the integration of elements such as empathic understanding and unconditional acceptance from the traditions of individual therapy, it becomes possible for the clinician to attend more to the individual in family therapy.

M.A. (Clinical Psychology) / As family therapy has gained acceptance as a treatment modality within the mental health field, increasing attention has been directed towards theory development. With the focus on theoretical issues, including that of epistemology, a division has arisen between strategic and ecosysternic approaches to family therapy. This study was undertaken in order to examine the nature of this debate. The work of Jay Haley was chosen as representative of the strategic approach, and that of Bradford Keeney as representative of the ecosystemic approach to family therapy. The study proceeded on the assumption that fundamental differences exist between the two approaches, which reflect the difference between a lineal and a non-lineal epistemology. In order to place the study in context, the historical development of the family therapy field was reviewed and the conclusion was reached that family therapy represents a method of conceptualising human behaviour, which isdiscontinuous with previous conceptualisations, and which parallels similar shifts in other disciplines. The concept of epistemology within the family therapy field was explored. The lack of clarity which continues to characterise the use of this term within the field, may be attributed, at least in part, to its confusing use by influential writers in the field. The underlying assumptions, central theoretical concepts and methodology of both Haley's strategic therapy and Keeney's cybernetic epistemology, were delineated and the two approaches were then compared along a number of critical dimensions. The investigation established significant conceptual differences between the two approaches and the conclusion was reached that these differences reflect essential epistemological differences. While Keeney's ecosystemic approach is consistent with a non-lineal epistemology, Haley's approach continues to reflect an underlying lineal epistemology

M.A. (Clinical Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

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In this dissertation, I examined how questions function in psychotherapy. While the Milan group (Selvini-Palazzoli, Boscolo, Cecchin, & Prata, 1980) were the first to recognise explicitly that questions could be more than simple information-gathering tools, many of the newer interactional therapy models also rely extensively on questioning. While there have been many attempts at classifying such questions, these taxonomies remove questions from their context, obscuring the ways in which they function interactionally. One of the main functions of questions is to introduce embedded presuppositions as common ground. That is, while many questions seem to be primarily requesting information, they are also indirectly introducing assumptions. In a functional analysis of the process initiated by a therapeutic question, 10 sequential, frame-by-frame steps were identified and advanced: First, questions require answers; clients cannot easily ignore them. Second, the answerer must make sense of the question and its embedded presuppositions. Third, the question constrains and orients the answerer to a particular aspect of his or her experience. Fourth, in order to answer the question, the answerer must often do considerable on-the-spot review work. Fifth, in formulating an answer, the answerer does not ordinarily comment on the embedded presuppositions. Sixth, an embedded presupposition is malleable and can be corrected. Seventh, once the answerer has responded, the very act of answering the question implicitly accepts the embedded presuppositions as common ground. Eighth, the answer is owned by the client, not the therapist. That is, because the client must provide information that the therapist does not have, he or she discovers and presents information consistent with the embedded presuppositions. Ninth, when the question has been answered, the initiative returns to the questioner (the therapist). And tenth, as conversations move ahead rapidly, it becomes increasingly difficult to return to earlier embedded presuppositions. Therefore, the answerer cannot challenge them, even though they were never explicitly discussed. These steps were applied to questions in a wide variety of traditional and interactional psychotherapy sessions. It was clear that traditional therapies typically ask questions that embed presuppositions about pathology, chronicity, and inability, whereas questions in the interactional therapies introduce a more positive, option-enhancing perspective in that they embed presuppositions about agency, ability, and other positive qualities. / Graduate

The present study compares the effectiveness of two interventions in the treatment of marital discord: a sequentially integrated systemic intervention focusing on reframing interactional patterns and an emotionally focused intervention, focusing on accessing emotional experiences underlying interaction patterns. Forty-two couples seeking therapy were randomly assigned to one of these treatments or to a wait-list control group. Each treatment was administered in ten weekly sessions by seven experienced therapists. Through an implementation check it was determined that the treatments had been implemented in accordance with the treatment manuals. Tests of equivalence showed that the groups were equivalent on pre-test levels, demographic variables and in the strength of their working alliance with their therapists. Post-test results indicated that both treatment groups made significant gains compared to untreated controls on measures of marital adjustment, conflict resolution, target complaint reduction and goal attainment, but that neither treatment group gained significantly more than the other. At follow-up, a further 16 weeks later, post-test levels on all measures were maintained by the sequentially integrated systemic group. The emotionally-focused group maintained levels on conflict resolution, and continued to achieve target complaint improvement but slipped back on pre-test goals and relapsed on marital adjustment. Results suggest that two very different treatments, one of which had not been tested before, are both effective in helping couples alleviate marital distress, but that the sequentially integrated systemic therapy is more self-sustaining. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

One year after receiving 12 sessions of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), 9 of the original 14 voluntary, moderately distressed couples in James (1988) study, were tested to determine whether or not treatment gains were maintained or Increased over a one year span of time after receiving therapy. It was hypothesized that couples who received an EFT treatment would show improvement on the mean scores of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), the Psychosocial Intimacy Questionnaire (PIQ), the Communication Scale (CS) and Target Complaints (TC, over a one year span of time after receiving therapy. More specifically, a trend was anticipated. The trend was expected to be that of an increase on mean scores between pre-test and post-test followed by a decrease between post-test and four months follow-up and then a recovery or Improvement between four months and one year after receiving therapy. The 9 couples completed four self-report measures and participated in a structured interview. The hypothesis was supported by the research findings. Results indicated that post-treatment regression subsided between four months follow-up and one year follow-up. As a replication of Remple's (1986) study, this investigation did not show the dramatic increases to post-treatment levels between four months and one year after therapy that Remple (1986) found. However the results of this study do support the notion that EFT is effective in maintaining increased marital satisfaction over a one year span of time. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to investigate the meaning of the psychodrama process as experienced by individuals who claim that it resulted in significant change. Using an existential-phenomenological approach, the study described the meaning of the experience for six adult co-researchers. The co-researchers were asked to describe their experiences before, during, and after their psychodramas. Two interviews were conducted and these were tape recorded and transcribed. The transcripts were analyzed and themes were formulated which were validated by the co-researchers and woven into an exhaustive description of the psychodrama experience. The exhaustive description was condensed into an essential structure. Both the exhaustive description and the essential structure were validated by all the co- researchers. The results support elements of both psychodrama and Gestalt theory, as well as current theories of group development. Implications for counselling and further research are discussed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Members of scientific disciplines and lay persons alike commonly hold the view that the practical work carried out by those very same members is theory governed. The problem undertaken by this study was to observe, in a psychiatric hospital, the practical work of psychotherapists, with the intent of characterizing the role played by theory in their work. An ethnographic approach was employed, and the research was focused on psychotherapy with patients diagnosed to be members of a single diagnostic category. The researcher began his fieldwork with the assumption that his knowledge of psychiatric theory would allow him to make sense of his observations. Contrary to his expectations, he was unable to discern the theoretical significance of the activities that he observed. This led the researcher to conclude that there was a "gap" between his knowledge and his observations. The researcher developed a number of plausible explanations for the "gap," none of which proved to be adequate. The "gap," in itself, raises a hitherto unacknowledged issue of the relationship between theory and practice. It is argued that the "gap" exists not only for the researcher, but also for any persons who would study a body of scientific theoretical knowledge, and then observe what purports to be the practical application of that knowledge. The "gap" seems to be integral to any theory-guided discipline. The study explicates, it is argued, a characteristic of scientific work. The lack of an adequate explanation for the "gap" is not a failing of the study, but rather points to the lack of a standard which specifies what "theory governed" means. Although the study presents us with a puzzle, it does not put into question the efficacy of theorizing with respect to the accomplishment of practical work in the clinical or any other disciplines. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate