Coming Soon: Article on group therapy and positive psychology

The research team at the Danielsen Institute is grateful to Cheri Marmarosh (George Washington U.) who invited several of our team along with Nathaniel Wade (Iowa State U.) to collaborate with her on a group therapy paper soon to be published in Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome. This paper offers a practice-friendly overview of several positive developmental and virtue-related outcomes of group therapy and aligns with the Institute’s ongoing efforts to move psychotherapy considerations toward dual outcomes of alleviating suffering and facilitating positive relational growth. The abstract is below and we will update this page when the publicized version is out.

Marmarosh, C.L., Sandage, S.J., Wade, N., Captari, L.E., & Crabtree, S.A. (in press). New horizons in group psychotherapy research and practice from Third Wave Positive Psychology: A practice-friendly review. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome.

Abstract

Introduction: Group psychotherapy has been shown to be equivalent to individual therapy for many disorders that include anxiety, depression, grief, eating disorders, and schizophrenia (Burlingame & Strauss, 2021). In addition to being effective at reducing symptoms, group therapy offers members’ a sense of belonging, purpose, hope, altruism, and meaning while in treatment (Yalom & Leszcz, 2020). These additional outcomes are especially important during COVID-19 or when facing national/international conflicts. People are struggling with uncertainty, death, and loss. Applying recent developments in positive psychology to group therapy can enhance treatment. Method: A review of the literature demonstrated that group therapy offers members something many treatments cannot provide in addition to reducing symptoms. Papers focused on applying positive psychological constructs to group therapy outcome were summarized. Results: The review of the literature shed light on the implementation of third wave positive psychology on group therapy (Lomas et al., 2021). Specifically, we demonstrated that group therapy facilitates six positive psychological virtues, and these can be used to assess treatment outcome: humanity, wisdom, transcendence, courage, temperance, and justice. We also present support for including attachment theory and mentalization within a positive psychological framework. Discussion: Implications were explored considering future research, clinical work, and training of group therapists.