Using Groups to Help People (International Library of Group Psychotherapy and Group Process) - Softcover

"This is a great book for the novice group therapist. The author has been very thorough in examining all aspects of group therapy and then some. Ms. Whitaker states, 'the book is not a how to, but is meant to be practical.' She covers areas from the purpose, the population of the group and the group process....If I had to choose a text for a graduate class of group therapy, this would be it. The author has done a fine job covering all aspects of group therapy. It is most useful for a studetn that has little to no experience with group therapy.." -American Journal of Pastoral Counseling, Vol. 6. No. 2, 2003

This new edition of Using Groups to Help People has been written with the interests, needs, and concerns of group therapists and group workers in mind. It is designed to help practitioners to plan and conduct therapeutic groups of diverse kinds, and it presents frameworks to assist practitioners to understand and judge how to respond to the unique situations which arise during group sessions. It deals with such issues as:

• choosing groups formats and structures to match the needs and capabilities if different populations of people
• observing and listening to groups, and making sense of what one sees and hears.
• problem situations, and how they can be turned into opportunities why, how and when to intervene in a group
• events which can occur in therapeutic groups which cannot occur in individual psychotherapy, and implications for the therapist uses and misuses of theory when planning and conducting groups
• planning and conducting research on one's own groups and those of colleagues.

This practical and readable book will prove valuable to all those involved in making use of small face-to-face groups to benefit their members. It takes into account new developments in the field during the past fifteen years, including new writing and the author's further experiences and thinking during this time.