Introduction
Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is a time-limited psychotherapeutic approach that has three phases namely; beginning, middle, and end. The collective approach requires a therapist to be able to identify an individual’s target diagnosis and the interpersonal context in which it presents. IPT puts much emphasis on stressful events of life transitions, deficits linked to the onset, perpetuation or exacerbation of present symptoms interpersonal disputes, and grief while assisting patients to connect with social supports and improve the nature and quality of their relations (Cuijpers et al., 2016). The initial phase includes the formation of a therapeutic alliance, in the middle phase, a therapist applies interpersonal problem-focused therapeutic guidelines and in the ending phase, both the client and therapist consolidate gains, review contingency plans, and adaptive interpersonal strategies. Although IPT was initially noted to be effective in the management of depression, today, evidence from currently existing research indicates that it is effective in the management of other mental health issues such as anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and substance abuse disorders.
In a group setup, IPT is effective in helping people to address the relationship and personal issues by focusing on their interpersonal relations. The primary purpose of group IPT is to address individual difficulties and encourage the individual development of group members. Therefore, a therapist will select members for a group that comprises individuals who can collectively benefit from IPT therapy as well as contribute to the personal development of other group members. In this paper, the author analyzes the group techniques used during an IPT group therapy session for a client named Jimmy who had a substance use disorder. The author discusses and demonstrates the group techniques illustrated during the session with evidence from supporting literature, what the therapist did well, what the author would have handled differently, and insights gained from watching how the therapist handled the group therapy session.
Group Therapy Techniques, How They Were Demonstrated With Literature Support
An important group technique that was demonstrated during the session is that of releasing tension in the beginning stage. Before the session began, Jimmy was in a lot of discomforts to share his deepest feelings, thoughts, and secrets with group members. However, when he first spoke, all group members who had realized the tension tried to make the environment more comfortable. For instance, one member of the group thanked Jimmy for sharing and another acknowledged that everyone has secrets. To add on, other group members shared their secrets. One member admits how she had done huge stuff on a project; another member shared how he used his grandfather’s pension money when he was sent to get it from the post office. Another group member admitted that he used to steal from his family although under totally different circumstances. According to Hauber, Boon & Vermeiren (2019), sharing does not only promotes universality and comfort but also increased cohesiveness and released tension amongst group members.
Another group therapy technique that was demonstrated was that of catharsis which helped to build trust, confidence and to promote disclosure. In the beginning stage of the IPT session, Jimmy was not ready to disclose much of his secrets, thoughts, feelings, and issues. This group technique was demonstrated by group members who were ready to disclose very shameful aspects of their lives that played a major role in relieving guilt, pain, or stress. By people being ready to disclose aspects of individual lives, it left a clear message of trust that brought members together by permitting them to take risks and make further disclosures. This had a positive impact on Jimmy and the group. As other group members demonstrated to identify with Jimmy, they also took risks to expose their vulnerability. This interaction took the group to a higher level of interpersonal sensitivity which is another group therapy technique. Interpersonal sensitivity was demonstrated through Mark when he shared an experience that was similar to that of Jimmy while historically focusing on the details of the disclosure. Hauber, Boon & Vermeiren (2019) highlight that, disclosure can only happen in a group when there is individual readiness and cohesiveness to disclose Analyzing Group Techniques. It is for this reason that the therapist did not force disclosure despite powerful agents of change.
The technique of interpersonal learning was also demonstrated through the acti
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