Therapeutic Factors in Patient Groups with Psychosis

Abstract

Therapeutic factors in group therapy are a series of action mechanisms that contribute to change in therapeutic processes. They are inherent to group dynamics and interaction, yet are not necessarily associated with a therapist’s intervention. These factors are elemental components of a therapeutic change phenomenon derived from the group matrix. We present five studies that thoroughly evaluate these therapy factors within groups of patients diagnosed with psychosis. All factors are measured with the Yalom Q-sort questionnaire that defines factors based on their value given by the patients. We evaluate and report these value differences between group context, patient diagnosis, and therapeutic orientation. Therapeutic factors act independently of diagnoses, theoretical framework, and classification; they are intrinsic components of unique group dynamics. In general, the factor claimed to be most important in patients with severe mental disorders was the instillation of hope.