Group psychotherapy with Arab patients

الملخص EN

Group psychotherapy is a modality of treatment in which some patients who are especially selected are placed into a group guided by a trained therapist, in order to help affect behavioral change and personality modification.

This is achieved by using a variety of technical maneuvers and theoretical frameworks.

The leader of the group, uses group member's interactions in order to produce the desired change of goal.

The early experiences of Arab participation within a group has received many disappointments and has therefore resulted in some therapists discontinuing the practice of this form of psychotherapy, and relying mainly on individual approaches, instead.

Using the non-directive approach and the permissive attitude of having emotions expressed freely in the group led to cpnflicts within the patient and between patients in the group.

These were difficult to resolve and ended many times in an angry withdrawal of some patients and a few divorces within the patient groups.

It is important to identify those aspects that might have a detrimental effect on the interaction, and thus have a negative effect on group therapy.

Techniques need to be modified in the light of the culture in order to get an optimum outcome of therapy.

The purpose of this presentation is to identify those characteristics and to delineate the favourable ones and utilize them in order to achieve the best results possible.