Group analysis/Group-analytical psychotherapy
Group analysis is a form of psychotherapy in small groups and it originates from the psychoanalytical approach. Apart from basic elements of psychoanalytical technique, analytically oriented group psychotherapies use therapeutic potential of a group situation.
The form of verbal communication within a group is the unstructured, freely floating discussion, which is the equivalent of free association in psychoanalysis. The aim of therapy is not just a symptomatic improvement through venting one’s feelings and through understanding, but changing the personality structure by activating unconscious conflicts and moving on from re-experiencing to verbal communication.
The group analytical situation as a bearer of specific group therapeutic elements is operates within a therapeutic framework, based on the principles of desirable behavior and group analytic culture.
The therapeutic framework or setting is defined by a range of constant conditions on which group members do not have an impact, but about which they have been informed and prepared for before joining the group.
The conditions are: the kind of group (open or closed), the space and seating arrangement, number of members, duration and frequency of sessions.
Briefly and schematically, six to nine patients, appropriate for a joint approach, regularly meet with the therapist once a week for an hour and a half, and sit facing one another and the therapist. The ideal model for this is the circle.
The principles of desirable behavior expected from group members, about which they have been informed during preparations for the group sessions, include: regular attendance, punctuality, discretion, refraining from action of any kind (eating, drinking, touching), and avoiding contacts outside the group.
Group analytical culture is the way the therapist manages the group under the above-described rules, and its members gradually accept it and identify with him/her.
In a small analytical group it is desirable that patients be of different sex and age, and have different interpersonal styles and ways of expressing emotions.