Group Psychotherapy For People With Chronic Mental Illness [Hardcover]

Walter Stone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2, 1996 | ISBN-10: 1572300760 | ISBN-13: 978-1572300767 | Edition: 1

Providing a cost-effective treatment model that is respectful of patients' needs, their strengths, and their limitations, this volume presents the first dynamic and coherent approach to group treatment for the chronically mentally ill. This flexibly bound' model structures members' variable attendance while utilizing group dynamic principles to maximize therapeutic opportunities. The author focuses on the impact and opportunities of group treatment to help members overcome inhibitions in expressing their needs, assert themselves, and manage the inevitable hurts and disappointments in their relationships. The group functions as a transition point from which members can learn new ways of interacting and then apply them in their everyday lives.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...The approach put forth in this text is both practical and clinically sophisticated...The author is able to support his model throughtout the book with many case vignettes that add a richness to his writing. It is the type of writing that effectively introduces new group therapists to complex ideas, and it also evokes more seasoned clinicians' recollection of similar clinincal experiences fromt their practice in a way that enriches clinical understanding...The author presents a great deal of clinical wisdom in a readable and cocise fashion...Stone's clear thinking and humane approach are revitalizing to clinicians who work with the chronically mentally ill. All those considering development of such a group are encouraged to take advantage of this resource...Experienced group therapists will find much to put into use to keep their work intellectually stimulating and challenging and to better serve a group of individuals who have been unable to tolerate existing groups." --Stephen L. Spyres, MSSW, CGP Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic

"Relevant for the beginning practitioner, as well as the seasoned clinician, this is a book intended for psychotherapists of all disciplines and orientations. Stone's treatment model offers the first compelling approach to group treatment for this challenging population. It is flexible enough to structure group members' variable attendance, taking intervening factors and behavior into consideration...His delineation of treatment goals with this population--enhancing their verbal expression of needs, their assertiveness, and their management of everyday nuances of relationships--is clear and includes patient and therapist dynamics....case vignettes highlight specific points throughout. This is a useful and important book..." --Rosemary Ciullo, PsyD, Readings

"The chronically mentally ill have a new champion. In a compelling and sensitive book, Walter Stone has created an exceptional didactic experience that provides new enthusiasm for this too often neglected population. Group therapy comes alive in a manner that is comprehensible and applicable. This is a book for anyone interested in the chronically mentally ill; and for those who are not interested, beware, this book may alter your opinion." --Samuel J. Keith, MD, Professor and Chairman, Dept of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico

"Basically intended as a treatise on group therapy for long-term mental patients, this volume has value beyond its sensitive contribution to clinical psychiatry. It is also an important conceptual work that delves into the definitional and semantic issues surrounding chronic mental illness. Clinicians will find great merit in the book's step-by-step descriptions of engaging and assisting patients in group therapy. Sociologists will profit from its excellent analyses of group process. All, however--clinicians, researchers, and academics alike--will appreciate Stone's efforts to clarify concepts and provide a broad theoretical framework for clinical interventions with members of a vulnerable patient population." --Leona Bachrach, Ph.D., Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine

"The need for this volume is compelling. It comes at a critical juncture in the field of psychiatry, when resources for the mentally ill are dwindling and when psychotherapy is being neglected. Dr. Stone reminds us of the need for psychosocial rehabilitation of the chronically mentally ill and the viability of group psychotherapy over the long run. He has provided us with adequate theoretical background, guidance, practical advice, and rich clinical illustrations of the treatment process. The work described in this book is, or should be, at the heart of clinical practice." --Howard D. Kibel, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Director of Group Psychotherapy, New York Medical College

"In this new book, Dr. Walter Stone, writing with great warmth and compassion, offers a fresh look at doing psychodynamic group psychotherapy with chronically mentally ill patients. It is a hopeful sign in these days when pharmacological agents seem to have taken over as 'the treatment' of this population and opportunities for human engagement through psychotherapy are few and far between for them. In a beautifully simple and straightforward style, Dr. Stone pulls together theory and clinical practice as he guides us through the basic ingredients of doing this type of group psychotherapy. This book will become a classic in the field. All individuals working with the chronically mentally ill should read it. It is enlightening for both the beginner as well as the experienced clinician." --Lawrence L. Kennedy, MD, Director, Partial Hospitalization Services, Menninger Clinic; Training and Supervising Analyst, Topeka Institute for Psychoanalysis

About the Author

Walter N. Stone, MD, is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine. A coauthor (with J. Scott Rutan) of Psychodynamic Group Psychotherapy, he is past president of the American Group Psychotherapy Association, a Fellow in the American Psychiatric Association, and has written over 30 articles on group psychotherapy training and practice.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Guilford Press; 1 edition (February 2, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572300760
• ISBN-13: 978-1572300767
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #545,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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