As managed care systems become the most important healthcare delivery models in the United States, they are revolutionizing the way that clinicians provide psychotherapy. Financial considerations and the size of client pools have an increasing expectation that group psychotherapy be the modality of first choice. In this new environment, clinicians must be thoroughly conversant in group therapy techniques to be effective providers.

Written by a leading expert on group therapy, "Time-Managed Group Psychotherapy: Effective Clinical Applications" provides new and experienced clinicians with generic models for the development of efficient and effective interactive groups able to deliver a wide variety of treatment options. It offers a comprehensive examination of the potential of group psychotherapy and an appreciation of time management in its utilization. Based on empirical research and illustrated with numerous examples, this text discusses a variety of treatment models that employ various combinations of supportive, cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal, and psychodynamic techniques.

"Introduction to Time-Limited Group Psychotherapy" is a basic text designed for the clinician who already has experience in individual psychotherapy. However, the breadth of perspective and discussion of therapeutic strategies should be of value to the more experienced psychotherapist as well.

The book is divided into four sections. "Section One" deals with basic concepts regarding the small group. This section should aid the therapist in accurately recognizing group phenomena. "Section Two" presents the applications of the theories concerning time-limited group psychotherapy in a clinical setting. It emphasizes the importance of careful diagnostic and interpersonal assessment, group composition considerations, and pretherapy preparation in ensuring that a sense of & ldquo;groupness& rdquo; will emerge promptly.

"Section Three" shows how to use the emerging relationships among group members as the vehicle to manage individual issues. In both Sections Two and Three, the current literature concerning brief individual therapy is applied to the group context. "Section Four" offers guidelines for integrating group psychotherapy into service and training programs. Special consideration is given to inpatient groups and long-term support groups.

This is the first-ever application to group therapy of the popular, replicable, time-limited, evidence-based approach initially developed to treat individual depression. Denise Wilfley adapted it in the course of researching the management of eating disorders; her collaborators include a national authority on group work plus an originator of Interpersonal Psychotherapy. Their step-by-step identification of the goals, tasks, and techniques attendant on running normalizing, cost-effective groups makes a real contribution to the clinical repertoire.

Filling a significant gap in the clinical literature, this unusually practical manual addresses the nuts-and-bolts issues involved in conducting group therapy. Featuring contributions from leading experts in the field, the volume covers everything from determining which patients will benefit from a group experience to step-by-step instructions for running group sessions as effectively as possible. A hands-on manual, the volume is also an ideal companion to a basic text on group psychotherapy.
Organized in a unique, logical sequence, the chapters begin with an explanation of how to select patients for a particular group intervention and how groups are composed. The different stages of group interaction over time are then covered in detail, as are the changing aspects of the therapist's role during the various stages. Setting forth basic principles of group technique--including the management of resistance, transference, primitive group dynamics, and countertransference--a clear distinction is drawn between the roles of therapists conducting group treatment and therapists working in other treatment modalities.