A world between realities: an exploration of therapeutic group culture and transitional phenomena in a long-term psychotherapy group.
In long-term, open-ended psychotherapy groups in which there are inevitable, yet potentially disruptive changes in membership, therapeutic group culture can become particularly important in sustaining a group's sense of cohesion. This article focuses on how transitional phenomena, as defined by D. W. Winnicott, and representational play serve as vehicles for establishing therapeutic group culture in a preadolescent girls' group. Applications of both transitional phenomena and therapeutic group culture to group stage development, as outlined by Garland, Jones, and Kolodny (1970), will also be explored.
Sakurai
M
M
Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Brookline, MA.
Abrams
L
L
D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006126:Group Processes; D006127:Group Structure; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009769:Object Attachment; D010379:Peer Group; D010988:Play and Playthings; D002666:Psychology, Child; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group