| Abstract: | Reviews the book, Intensive group psychotherapy by George R. Bach (1954). According to the reviewer, as a new addition to the rapidly increasing body of literature on group psychotherapy, this volume contains a number of unique features that will certainly command the attention of clinical and social psychologists. It is first of all a concrete and highly practical presentation of group psychotherapy as practiced privately with neurotic patients. The reviewer states that in this respect, it should fill a growing need for work dealing with private group treatment, a field that seems to have some interesting social implications. In addition to this more practical feature, this book is unusual because it is one of the first in this area which includes an attempt to apply the technical developments in group dynamics evolved by the social psychologists directly to the therapeutic treatment of character disorders, hysterics, and other neurotic patients frequently encountered in private practice. The reviewer states that the greatest direct appeal of this book will certainly be the clearly written first half which deals with practical problems of group therapy. The second half of the book opens with an extensive and interesting discussion of a theory of "contact psychology" and group life. In this reviewer's opinion, this book will be of interest both to group therapists and to students seeking material that bridges the gap between clinical and social psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
