A Comparison of the Methods of Handling Group Therapy in the State Mental Hospital With Group Therapy Employed With Convalescent Patients, Formerly Patients at a State Mental Hospital

In this study, the writer intends to describe in brief the experiments in Group Therapy and Group Psychotherapy at five State Mental Hospitals and indicate what results were reported. None of the five experiments are alike. Actually, a variety of methods has been used, indicating the wide scope in the field. The writer will then describe the experiment conducted by Dr. Rosenberg and Miss Vassar at the Washington-Heights-After-Care-Clinic, and an attempt will be made to evaluate this experiment. The writer will also make her own critical comment about each experiment, and will try to indicate what was common to all these experiments, and in what ways they differed. It can be stated that psychiatrists often hesitate to set forth statistically what the results of group treatment of the mentally ill are. It is difficult to make a comparison on a statistical basis because no indication has been made as to the criteria for judging improvement or recovery. One cannot state whether there would be universal agreement among doctors as to the improvement and recovery of these patients. Some psychiatrists being fully aware of this have been hesitant to set LUP statistical tables. Some feel that the degree of spontaneity shown, the amount of cooperation and willingness of members to participate in discussions, indicate the value of the experiment as well as anything else. An attempt will be made to compare the different methods of handling group therapy with mental patients, and with convalescent patients, and to indicate the success of the various experiments. No attempt will be made to draw absolute conclusions, as there not only was not enough material to warrant such a statement, but also because the writer is aware that the actual degree of comparison is limited. Perhaps the greatest value will be to indicate what methods are prevalent and effective and to acquaint the reader with how group therapy is practiced in the mental hospital today. The five State Hospitals where experiments were conducted were, namely: Clarinda State Hospital in Iowa, Elgin State Hospital in Illinois, Eloise State Hospital in Michigan, Worcester State Hospital in Massachusetts, and Ypsilanti State Hospital in Michigan. Central Islip State Hospital is located on Long Island in New York State