title: Reflections on group treatments as corrective experiences for addictive vulnerability.
abstract: This article addresses how and why groups help people with addictive disorders feel better and change. It advances the position that problems in self-regulation and the psychological suffering that ensues are at the root of addictive disorders. Group work is especially effective in addressing these problems, providing a means of relief, and examining co-occurring characterological problems. The evolution of these ideas and the generation of a model for group therapy for substance abusers are traced over a 30-year period, and a list of principles about how and why group treatments work is presented. In addition, a number of advantages that group psychotherapy has over 12-step programs for some patients are provided. Group psychotherapy is presented as a unique corrective emotional experience.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Cambridge Hospital, MA, USA.
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Khantzian
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D010553:Personality Development; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group; D012657:Self-Help Groups; D012944:Social Support; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016896:Treatment Outcome