Group therapy

1) A type of psychiatric care in which several patients meet with one or more therapists at the same time. Patients form a support group for each other as well as receiving expert care and advice. The group therapy model is particularly appropriate for psychiatric illnesses that are support-intensive, such as anxiety disorders, but is not well suited for treatment of some other psychiatric disorders. 2) A type of psychoanalysis in which patients analyze each other with the assistance of one or more psychotherapists, as in an “encounter group”. See also gestalt therapy.

* * *

group therapy n therapy in the presence of a therapist in which several patients discuss and share their personal problems

group therapist n

* * *

1. (group psycho-therapy) psychotherapy involving at least two patients and a therapist. The patients are encouraged to understand and to analyse their own and one another's problems. See also encounter group, psychodrama.

2. therapy in which people with the same problem, such as alcoholism, meet and discuss together their difficulties and possible ways of overcoming them.

* * *

a form of psychotherapy in which a group of people meet regularly with a group leader, usually a therapist. The group uses therapeutic forces within the group, interactions between members, and the interventions of the trained leader to achieve insight into the cause of problems, provide emotional support, or effect changes in maladaptive behavior, thoughts, or feelings of the individual members. Called also group psychotherapy.