Creating Contact, Choosing Relationship: The Dynamics of Unstructured Group Therapy (Jossey Bass Social and Behavioral Science Series)

By Richard C. Page and Daniel N. Berkow

Book Overview

Much of the literature surrounding group therapy has focused on structured interactions. Yet, because of the unique history and qualities individuals bring to a group, structured interactions can sometimes constrain the potential intimacy and learning that can occur among individuals in more unstructured settings. This book explores how the dynamics of unstructured groups can help achieve therapeutic objectives, foster human growth, and create meaningful relationships. In Creating Contact, Choosing Relationship, Richard C. Page and Daniel N. Berkow offer a theoretical framework for enhancing the benefit participants can gain from engaging in interactions that are not structured according to predetermined patterns. They offer insights into incorporating both therapists' and group members' capacity for creativity and self-direction into group interactionand how this can enhance the change process. The authors provide an innovative, ethically-oriented therapeutic framework that can be applied in diverse settings by a variety of mental health practitioners--including psychologists, counselors, social workers, and occupational therapists. Applying existential and psychodynamic concepts, the authors show how development can occur both through interpersonal interactions and perceptual processes within individuals and how unstructured groups can enhance these facets of human development. Page and Berkow demonstrate how their appproach can help practitioners better interpret interactions that occur within the context of relationships as well as within the group as a whole. And they reveal how professionals can improve their recognition of themes such as love, power, and self-actualization in others.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1555426549
• ISBN13: 9781555426545
• Release Date: May 1994
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Length: 311 Pages