Original scientific paper

Patients’ Ranking of Therapeutic Factors in Group Analysis

Mirela Vlastelica
Slavica Pavlović
Ivan Urlić

Abstract

The aim of this research is to assess which therapeutic factors are of greatest importance
to patients in group analytic psychotherapy, and whether the patients’ characteristics
and the phase of the group process influenced their evaluation of therapeutic factors.
The Yalom’s group therapeutic factors questionnaire was filled out by 66 patients,
members of small groups conducted according to group analytic principles. The average
scores for each therapeutic factor were subsequently ranked by importance to the patients
and related to their age, sex, education, previous psychotherapeutic experience
and phase of group process. Self-understanding was the highest-ranking therapeutic
factor for the patients (average score 21.32±0.04 out of 25 maximum), whereas identification
was the lowest ranking factor (15.88±0.06 in average). Group therapeutic factors
were scored higher by women, patients up to 30 years of age, high-school graduates, and
those with previous psychotherapeutic experience. Self-understanding seems to be the
most important therapeutic factor in group analysis, emphasizing the importance of appropriate
selection of patients for group analysis in order to utilize therapeutic factors
the best.

Keywords

therapeutic factors; group analysis; psychotherapy; Yalom

Hrčak ID:

28203

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/28203

Publication date:

15.12.2003.

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