Working with Couples in a Group: Theoretical and Practical Issues

Abstract

Working with couples in a group is a recent development in group psychotherapy. It makes it possible for an individual therapist to work with difficult couples with entrenched narcissistic and personality conflicts. Despite a wide literature on groups and marital therapies, reports on treating couples in a group are still sparse. A review of the literature reveals the need for more in-depth examination of theory and technique. At the University of Alberta Hospitals' Psychiatric Walk-in Clinic, the authors ran a semi-open psychodynamically-orientated group for six couples for over four years. Theoretical and practical issues are elaborated in this paper, with examples of group interaction and therapist technique.