GROUP-THERAPY AND ITS SETTING

The relationships between group therapy and the basic conditions inten ded for it are discussed. Here contents and core which encompass the s etting are understood as the group process, which was methodically pla nned and is aimed at previously defined goals, within limits independe nt of the basic conditions, however proceeding under it's continual in fluence; here conflictual intensifications of this influence can devel op over again. The group processes described here are methodically ori ented on psychoanalysis and the group methods develops therefrom, espe cially the Gottinger model. The basic conditions for these processes a re presented in a graded manner as it were, ranging from the socio-eco nomical and socio-cultural environment (e. g. public dependent forms o f financing group therapy, public dependent ideological assessments of the group as such and specially it's therapeutic application), over t he institutional setting (independent practices, ambulant clinics, inp atient and partly inpatient institutions), on to the setting which we ascribe here to the basic conditions (duration and frequency of the gr oup sessions, make-up of the group according to the number of members and their clinical pictures and disorder symptoms). With a few casuist ic examples setting related conflicts in the course of a group process are described and commented on. First a conflict is described which d eveloped within the course of an inpatient group psychotherapy because the group head supported two norms which had to be experienced by the group members as being contradictory: On the one side as a responsibl e therapist of the group he represented the norm of free interaction w hich is a condition for - in the sense of analytic oriented group ther apy - making that which is not said and that which seems unable to be spoken about, the unknown, the unconscious experience content of the g roup members accessible to the group process. As a representative of t he clinical institution the group therapist furthermore represented th e house rules which include a driving ban (using one's own car is to b e secondary to the relationships within the clinic), a norm which is n ot appreciated very much by the patients due to several reasons which are easy to see. A conflict resulting from the collision of the two na med norms is described and discussed. Furthermore a setting related co nflict is described which occurred in an outpatient group because the therapist postponed a group appointment unexpectedly for the group mem bers as the therapist wanted to attend a scientific symposium and ther efore disarranged the schedules of several members considerably. Setti ng related conflicts are to be taken seriously because they - overlook ed by the group therapist - can lead to a stagnation of the group proc ess which of course can only be revoked by uncovering and working on i t. The group therapist should have two kinds of competencies at his di sposal, for one the competence to accompany the group process understa ndingly (diagnosing) and supportingly (intervening); furthermore the c ompetence to assess the influence of each existing basic condition, so me of them negotiated with the patient, on the process and to deal wit h it therapeutically.