SUBSTANCE ABUSE GROUP THERAPY IN MIAMI
G roup therapy can provide the support and perspective needed to truly recover from a sub- stance use disorder. The History of Group Therapy The origins of group therapy can be traced back to the early 1900’s as a therapeutic intervention treating chronic illnesses like Tuberculosis. It was found helpful for these patients in gaining emo- tional support and expressing their common feelings. Later, physician and psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion following WWII found while working with traumatized soldiers, the importance and benefits of groups and sharing similar experiences. Around the same time, Kurt Lewin PhD. Established the Research Center for Group Dynamics. Lewin’s work set the fundamental ideas of today’s behav- ioral group therapy, which are: groups come into being in a psychological sense ‘not because their members necessarily are similar to one another (although they may be); rather, a group exists when people in it realize their fate depends on the fate of the group as a whole. If the group’s task is such that members of the group are dependent on each other for achievement, then a powerful dynamic is created. Finally, Irvin Yalom MD professor of psychiatry at Stanford University’s School of Medicine went on to write what is considered the “Bible” of Group Therapy, The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy. Yalom identified eleven specific factors that lead to significant changes and shifts
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