Group Therapy Meta-Analysis

Group therapy has long been a tool used by therapists, and its effectiveness has been highly researched. Burlingame, MacKenzie, and Strauss (2004) conducted a meta-analysis, which examined 107 studies and 14 meta-analyses on the effectiveness of group therapy for various psychiatric disorders. The results showed adequate evidence to say group therapy was as effective as individual therapy, whether used by itself or in addition to individual therapy. Furthermore, the authors found that group therapy is successful with patients diagnosed with severe mental illness (SMI), including schizophrenia and mood disorders. Despite the fact their meta-analysis was not based on inpatient group therapy, the results lend support for the effectiveness of group

therapy as an appropriate and effective treatment as a whole. Inpatient psychiatric settings utilize group therapy.
Simply by the nature of groups, there are certain advantages of group psychotherapy. Goldberg, McNiel, and Binder (1988) evaluated therapeutic factors in two types of group psychotherapy for inpatients. They studied therapeutic processes in a verbal psychotherapy group as well as a music psychotherapy group. Both groups had the same treatment objectives, which included:
to help patients 1) engage in the therapeutic process of helping themselves and others; 2) begin to come to terms with their illness and increase coping skills; 3) increase the sense of control through recognition of personal strengths; and 4) increase the likelihood of follow-up treatment after discharge by proving a positive therapy experience.

(p. 147) The two groups differed, however, in how they achieved their objectives. The verbal therapy group mainly used "communication and expression" while the music therapy group primarily used "music and discussion" (p. 147). Patients participated in five to eight sessions of each respective group, then filled out questionnaires regarding their experience. Results showed that over half of participants in either group ranked it as very helpful, with no significant difference between the two groups. In both groups, patients rated "cohesiveness, instillation of hope, and altruism" among the most useful group factors (p. 153). Therapeutic factors play a critical role in group therapy and help serve the overall effectiveness of the group. Because group therapy is an effective treatment for people with SMI (Burlingame, MacKenzie, & Strauss, 2004), patients can experience improvement throughout their hospitalization by attending groups. Overall improvement is also highly correlated with patient satisfaction (Hansson & Berglund, 1987). Consequently, attending group therapy contributes to patient perception of care and ultimately,

contributes to patient satisfaction.