| In 1970 Irvin Yalom published his seminal work on group therapy, in which he presented an eleven-factor theory of psychotherapy group process. Since 1970, most research on group therapeutic factors has investigated their relative importance, depending on the therapeutic setting or modality, client population, or "developmental stage" of the group. However some authors have protested that there are methodological, definitional, or content-oriented problems with extant therapeutic factor research. The present author links these three issues by understanding them as symptoms of a research-practice gap. In order to explore the limitations of existing research and consider potential remedies, she conducted a one-time focus group of seven experienced group therapists. Interpreting the results of this study, she suggests that the scientific research paradigm, frequently espoused by psychotherapy researchers, is inappropriate to the study of group therapy, and she offers suggestions for alternative modes of inquiry. |
