Customer Reviews

Theory and Practice Of Group Psychotherapy, Fifth Edition

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Nobody should do group psychotherapy without reading this book.

I am currently using this for class and it is a very good book. Yalom, explains the process of group work and what aspect of the process works and what doesn't. You will be able to use what you read in this book with your own groups. Expects some laughs because there's a lot of humor also. You won't be bored.

Dr. Yalom's book is not only a veritable masterpiece, but a tour de force that deals with everything you ever wanted to know about group psychotherapy.

Comprehensive without being pedantic, thorough without being dense, Dr. Yalom puts the group process under a magnifying glass and, in straightforward easy-to-understand language and conceptualization, gently guides the student through all of the subtlties and nuances of group work.

I had to purchase this book for use as the main text in a group process course, but this book will remain on my shelf long after I have taken the course. Dr. Yalom's keen insight into not just how/why groups behave and function the way they do, but also his insight into basic human nature, has made this book very enjoyable as well as educational.

I am using this book for a Masters level group development course. It is honestly a book I could and would want to read on my own. It does not read like a textbook which is refreshing and Yalom puts the information across in such a way where you can follow and feel attached to what he is saying. Much of what he says feels like it was said in discussion and the questions he asks are reflective and introspective, not at all the usual questions you find in textbooks. i would recommend this book to any professor and any student or individual who wants to learn about group development.

I have used Irvin Yalom's text for three years as a companion to a process-oriented ten week group experience for undergraduate psychology students. The students have complained of Yalom's exceptional vocabulary and historical and literary allusions, but some have apparently managed to read the parcels I've assigned and have reported appreciating the wonderful vision and breadth of Yalom's novel-like presentation.
I enjoyed this book immensely as a graduate student of counseling and have found it to be a wonderful resource. It has been very enjoyable to watch my students see Yalom's principles get played out in our demonstration group and it has been gratifying to see these forces affect my clients therapeutically even with the limitations of managed care. In fact, I would say that Yalom's existential leanings are very consistent with strength-based, solution-focused psychotherapy.

This book is one that every graduate student in psychology or beginning therapist should read and have on their shelf. Yalom covers and discusses many important aspects of group therapy such as interpersonal learning, basic thearpist tasks, the idea of working in the here-and-now, therapist transference and transparency, selection of patients, creating a group, problem patients and training the group therapist. Yalom addresses this book to new therapists just starting out, as well as therapists who have been in the field for some time. Yalom presents the new therapist with the many considerations that need to be looked at when forming a group and actually leading a group and he assists the therapists who have been in the field for some time with ways in which to sharpen or improve their skills. Yalom's book appears to be based on highly functioning upper middle class individuals who seem to have good jobs and relationships with their family, friends and spouses. One may gather this assumption from the clinical vignettes and cases that Yalom presents throughout the entire book. Yalom incorporates much of his own practical experience with individuals in the groups that he has led himself, which makes his book feel like you are reading a novel and not a textbook per se. Although Yalom based his book on highly functioning upper middle class individuals, he never addressed the idea of group therapy with children or individuals of different ethnic backgrounds, which seem to be two important areas in today's society, especially within the realm of therapy. Yalom incorporates a rigorous research base within his text, such as discussing some of the current treatment modes and the diagnostic criteria for managed care, which other authors tend to maybe leave out or not touch upon, in essence leading the reader to believe that what Yalom speaks about is true, factual and practical when referring to group therapy. Although Yalom conducted an extensive amount of research on the area of managed care, I do not think it is possible for an individual to be covered by a managed health care or insurance company for a group that is conducted over a one to two year period, as Yalom presents in some of his clinical vignettes. One thing that I think Yalom has done that other authors have not is present the reader with twelve variables that he refers to as "therapeutic factors," (i.e. instillation of hope, universality, altruism, and group cohesiveness) which in essence are the driving tools and elements that assist therapy groups with rectifying individual character distortions. Yalom's book assisted our graduate psychology class in gaining an immense amount of insight and depth into the area of group therapy in such a short amount of time. Yalom's book is one that should be included in all graduate programs in psychology!

Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy by Dr. Yalom is an excellent book from which to gain knowledge and understanding of the dynamics of group process and also and essential piece of literature to keep at hand as a valuable reference book. This is the book that should be part of the therapy room equipment. I found this book to be pretty comprehensive and well written. Each chapter unfolds in a refined, detailed, manner providing depth in understanding every step of the process of group therapy. Yalon goes beyond reminding us of the importance of the therapeutic environment to provide a safe and warm place to facilitate sharing and disclosing. He expands from his theoretical framework to explain group dynamics in practical, concrete, ways through the use of terminology from other philosophical views and perspectives. He also stresses the need for therapists to strive to create a therapeutic culture in which the group and individual members can begin to take the roles they play in their natural environments. His whole approach to the process of group therapy is existential emphasizing on the "Here and now" and focusing on what is going on in the immediate present of the group. Evidence of his existential approach can be seen throughout the book with his consistent theme of interpersonal learning, self-exploration, self-growth, and taking responsibility for changing one's behavior to enhance personal life. Yalon provides answers to the questions he anticipates his readers may have. Questions such as regarding the creation of a group, and probable problems encountered during the course of different phases of group therapy. He goes on to explain in a detailed, specific manner, different variables that may influence the success of the group. He also provides possible solutions to these problems and transmits to the reader a sense of faith on the success of the group, and the process of the group learning experience. An important aspect, that yalon neglected when writing this book, is cultural diversity. It appears that the results of the research mentioned in his book can not be generalized to populations other than white, middle class adults, who are at a certain intellectual level of functioning, and who are motivated to work to change. Other than that, this book is an excellent resource book "To keep and to hold till'..." another better book comes along and "Do us apart"..

Yalom's book, The Theory And Practice of Group Psychotherapy, is written in such a way that a reader with a fair understanding of psychological theory and clinical practice can understand and utilize the material presented. As a student, I found the book extremely helpful as the material was presented in such a way that I will be able to use it in the future should I decide to practice group therapy; of which, I am interested. I found the structure of the book helpful as the table of contents led me through the book in a progressive manner that provided me with motivation to keep reading. This structure began with an overview of a study that presented what patients found helpful in a group therapy setting and the process through which this learning took place. Important topics, and why these topics are important, are thoroughly explained. Topics that I especially found important were "the therapeutic factors", interpersonal learning, group cohesiveness, working in the "here-and-now", transference and transparency, creation of the group, and the specialized formats and procedural aids for therapists. The benefit of being able to utilize the material in the future made the length of the book much more appealing. Yalom covers material that will help me start a group, move a group along and understand the dynamics of transference and how it works for a therapist if it is recognized and understood. In the future I may find that Yalom does not cover something that should have been included in the book but had not been, but as of yet I will be confident as a group therapist, or cotherapist, with the material covered in the book. This book, along with the education and training that I have had this year at my training sight and in practicum, have provided me with the tools that I will need to be confident as a beginning group leader and therapist.

No lengthy explanation needed here. I am a graduate counseling psychology student with a particular interest and experience in groups. We refer to this particular Yalom book as the group therapy "bible," since it pretty much contains everything you could ever need to know about the basics of running therapy (and even support) groups. This is one of very few books I've had to read for school that I actually couldn't STOP reading--it's that good. My professor for this course has been doing groups for over 20 years and says she still refers back to this book for insight when leading her groups. Also check out Yalom's book on existential therapy! There is some case study overlap with the group book, but it's another favorite. And don't let the size of this book intimidate you. You won't be able to put it down! Yalom is the man . . . Happy reading!

Dear Dr. Yalom,Although you are a psychiatrist, you may equally be considered a psychologist, sociologist, philosopher and researcher. No wonder your book is in its fourth edition, been translated into twelve languages, and sold 700,000 copies. I had been doing group psychotherapy for several decades before being introduced to your text. You express many things I had considered but never refined. I sensed that therapy groups were cultures and had norms. I knew that people begin to display their "problems" in the group with more blatant problems appearing first. I knew empathetic understanding was curative. I knew these things but you add depth, research, connection to the behavioral sciences and literature, and your own creativity.Early in life you developed a notion that "writing a novel is the very finest thing a person can do." The novel and psychotherapy share the experience of human drama, from folly to inspiration. You see the psychotherapeutic novel unfolding before you. You demonstrate that therapeutic things occur in an atmosphere of safety and honest, self-disclosing communication. You examine group dynamics in theoretical, empirical and practical ways that go beyond a novel.In expressing the theoretical sections of the text, you sound more like a sociologist than a psychiatrist. You use the words norms, social microcosm, primary family, interpersonal learning, group cohesiveness, and altruism. Your knockout punch was the idea of a therapy group being a sociological entity known as a "social microcosm" and that the therapist's job is to create a therapeutic culture. Social microcosm refers to the idea that in a "freely interactive group" that meets for sixteen months or more, people will become who they are in the larger world and the individual's pathology will be played out before you on the group stage. Your philosophic leanings toward existentialism can be seen in your emphasis on concepts such as the "here and now," and the individual's acceptance of personal responsibility for change. "Here and now" focuses on an awareness of the intra-group relationships. The basic existential question you ask of clients is, "Are you happy with the social reality that you have created?" If not, the individual is asked to accept responsibility for changing it. Groups have PowerYou believe that group approaches must be evaluated by outcome research. Compelling evidence is presented in your text that groups are effective and not simply a low cost model of individual psychotherapy. Evidence suggests, "...that the outcome of group psychotherapy is virtually identical." You state that research finds that successful therapy, whether individual or group, is characterized by a therapist/ patient relationship of "trust, warmth, empathetic understanding and acceptance."The Power Elements of the GroupYou assert that there is something special about a group. You specify the factors that fuel the power of the group. Based on research of "most successful patients," you posit twelve variables, ranging from Altruism to Universality, that are the power elements enabling therapy groups to bring about corrections of personality distortions. You offer these as the therapeutic skeleton of any therapeutic group.Don Quixote Yalom Fights the WindmillI also appreciate your willingness to take on the giants, though there is not much chance of winning. You take on managed care, DSM-IV and labeling, and problem specific group therapy. Your quote below is one that most therapists can identify with."I've always agreed with Jung that a different therapy must be constructed for each patient ... As the years pass, this attitude moves me further and further away from the center of professional psychiatry, which is being fiercely driven by economic forces in precisely opposite directions- namely accurate de-individualizing (symptom based) diagnosis and uniform, protocol-driven, brief therapy for all."ConsiderationsThe weaknesses of your approach are similar to those of traditional verbal psychotherapy. Your subjects appear to be fairly highly functioning upper middle class adults with jobs and relationships. They seem to be individuals who have had experiences with individual therapy, read the latest self-help books, and are prone to self-analysis. You never approach the ideas of ethnic or cultural diversity and how this affects group dynamics. Would individuals of Asian, African-American or Arabic background find your approach to group beneficial? Are there special problems presented by children? Is this type of therapy equally effective for poor people? As a therapist I ask, "How often is a therapist able to convene the same group of five to ten people for eighteen months to two years?" This time period is not generally feasible as managed health would certainly have no part of it, private funding would be a burden for many, and insurance will no longer cover it. At the individual level, it is difficult to ask someone to commit for two-years. I'm not sure that I'd want to commit to a group for that period of time. Summary: You give us the concept of social microcosm, then you mix in norms such as honesty and self-disclosure, add a couple of jiggers of "here and now" and you have a therapeutic cocktail that addresses long term personality problems. You have probably done more research on group therapy than any other human animal in history. Your text combines the best available empirical evidence with touching vignettes and is accurately described as reading like a novel. Thank you for taking the slight of hand magic out of the group process and replacing it with substance. We have gained light and insight since the dark ages of group psychotherapy and your contribution has been a major part of that. My training in group psychotherapy consisted of being thrown into a group with a tape recorder and told to do group therapy, and that we would talk about it later in supervision. Thank God for progress and the accumulation of knowledge and research. You have taught us to be aware and sometimes share the unspoken parts of interactive experiences. Thank you.

Love, Peace, and Group Psychotherapy, Bill Lombardo, Ph.D.