Pretherapy Preparation for Group Members

The authors provide a comprehensive survey of the research literature on pretherapy training for group psychotherapy. The twenty studies identified during the twenty-five-year period 1962-1987 were fraught with various methodological and design inadequacies. Despite the widespread positive endorsement found in the clinical literature, the research evidence for the benefit of pretherapy training is not particularly impressive. While there is evidence of certain immediate effects (e.g., improved attendance), results concerning process and outcome effects are, at best, only suggestive. In the face of the disappointing findings, the authors are nonetheless optimistic regarding the potential value of pretherapy training.