Affiliation:
1. Department of Psychiatry at the University of Alberta, Edmonton
2. University of Alberta Hospitals in Edmonton
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.
Subject
Psychiatry and Mental health,Clinical Psychology,Social Psychology