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Lubin, H., Loris, M., Burt, J., & Johnson, D. R. (1998). Efficacy of psychoeducational group therapy in reducing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder among multiply traumatized women. American Journal of Psychiatry, 155, 1172-1177.
Murphy, S. A., Johnson, C., Cain, K. C., Gupta, A. D., Dimond, M., & Lohan, J. (1998). Broad-spectrum group treatment for parents bereaved by the violent deaths of their 12- to 28-year-old children: A randomized controlled trial. Death Studies, 22, 209-235.
People experiencing overwhelming stressors in their lives can have emotional sequelae that last for years. The stressors can be quite varied and include such events as physical abuse, rape, military combat, and death of a loved one. The sequeale likewise can vary, from bereavement and depression to posttraumatic stress disorder to experiences of a psychotic proportion. Group therapy can be helpful for such problems, and it is important for us to develop relevant treatment models that can be used in today's time-limited, managed-care settings. Both of the studies described offer this possibility.
The first study was by Lubin, Loris, Burt, and Johnson ( 1998). In their article, they began by noting that group therapy for patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) traditionally has been limited to enhancing self-esteem, hopefulness, and interpersonal skills, and reducing mistrust and social isolation. They discuss a trauma-focused cognitive- behavioral treatment approach called "interactive psychoeducational group therapy," first described by two of the authors (Lubin &Johnson, 1997), which in addition to the goals previously mentioned attempted to achieve significant reductions in the core symptoms of PTSD. Groups using this model are divided into three phases with a specific focus: exploring the effects of the trauma on individual sense of self, exploring the effects of the trauma on interpersonal relationships, and exploring ways to find meaning in one's life despite the trauma.
In this uncontrolled pilot study, the authors attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of this treatment method on 29 women who were multiply traumatized in childhood and adulthood. They were assigned to one of five therapy groups that met for 16 consecutive weekly sessions. Each session lasted 90 minutes and consisted of a 15-minute psychoeducational lecture, a...