The role of differentiated group experience in the course of an inpatient psychotherapy

The present study attempts to provide an empirical description of the "tota l group-therapeutic space" provided during an inpatient psychosomatic treat ment with respect to the group experience of the patients. Over a period of one year, the Stuttgarter Bogen (SB) and the group climate questionnaire ( GCQ-S) were given every third week after every therapy group. In addition, the 48 inpatients were divided up into a clinically successful and an unsuc cessful group by means of the General Symptom Index (GSI) of the SCL-90-R. In line with theoretical considerations, it was possible to differentiate b etween different therapy processes. The results underscore the role of grou p cohesion as a factor that has a major influence on therapeutic efficacy. Patients who feel comfortable and accepted in therapy groups are also more inclined to experience themselves as self-confident and active. If a negati ve group atmosphere is predominant, conformist behavior and a leader orient ation are observed in the group members. The patients who exhibited a prono unced avoidance-dependency experience in the groups at the beginning of the therapy and increasingly experienced the group as conflictual in the cours e of treatment were not able to profit from the treatment.