This article reports on a systematic review to assess the efficacy and clinical effectiveness of group analysis and analytic/dynamic (A/D) group psychotherapy. Systematic literature searches were undertaken; 34 primary studies and 19 reviews met the inclusion criteria and their data was extracted. Of the primary studies, the randomized controlled trials provided evidence for the efficacy and clinical effectiveness of group therapy approaches in a range of clinical problems, but not for specific benefits of any particular theoretical approach. The controlled studies and observational studies gave support for the use of group psychotherapy in a variety of conditions.
The review of reviews confirms that group therapies in general are more effective than wait list or standard care controls. Methodological challenges encountered and recommendations for further research are presented, along with a more detailed discussion of the implications of the review for the research community.
BaldwinS.SticeE.RohdeP. (2008) ‘Statistical Analysis of Group-administered Intervention Data: Reanalysis of Two Randomized Trials’, Psychotherapy Research18(4): 365–76.
2.
BatemanA.FonagyM. (2001) ‘Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder With Psychoanalytically Oriented Partial Hospitalization: An 18-Month Follow-Up’, American Journal of Psychiatry158: 6–42.
3.
BatemanA.FonagyM. (2008) ‘Eight Year Follow-Up of Patients Treated for Borderline Personality Disorder: Mentalization-based Treatment Versus Treatment as Usual’, American Journal of Psychiatry165, 631–8.
4.
BowenJ.L. (2006) ‘Educational Strategies to Promote Clinical Diagnostic Reasoning’, N Engl J Med. 355(21): 2217–25.
5.
BrayeS.Preston-ShootM. (2005) Emerging from out of the shadows? Service user and carer involvement in systematic reviews Evidence and Policy: A Journal of Research, Debate and Practice1(2): 173–94.
6.
BurlingameG. M.FuhrimanA.MosierJ. (2003) ‘The Differential Effectiveness of Group Psychotherapy: A Meta-analytic Perspective’, Group Dynamics7(1): 3–12.
7.
CarrS.CorenE. (2007) Collection of examples of service user and carer participation in systematic reviews. London: Using Knowledge in Social Care Research, Resource 2, SCIE.
8.
ConwayS.AudinK.BarkhamM.Mellor-ClarkJ.RussellS. (2003) ‘Practice-based evidence for a brief time-intensive multi-modal therapy guided by group-analytic principles and method’, Group Analysis36(3): 413–35.
9.
DeRubeisR.J.C. (1998) ‘Empirically supported individual and group psychological treatments for adult mental disorders’, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology66(1): 37–52.
10.
FigalG. (2002) ‘The doing of the thing itself: Gadamer’s hermeneutic ontology of language’, in DostalR. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Gadamer, pp. 106–24. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
11.
FleischmannP. (2009) ‘Literature Reviews. An example of making traditional research methods user focused’, in SweeneyA.BeresfordP.FaulknerA.NettleM.RoseD. (eds) This is Survivor Research, pp. 82–97. Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books.
12.
FonagyM.RothA.HiggittA. (2005) ‘Psychodynamic Psychotherapies: Evidence-based Practice and Clinical Wisdom’, Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic69(1): 1–58.
13.
GhersiD. (2002) ‘Making it Happen: Approaches to involving Consumers in Cochrane reviews’, Evaluation and the Health Professions25(3): 270–83.
14.
GibsonJ.J.ShawR.E.BransfordJ. (1977) The Theory of Affordances. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
KennardD.RobertsJ.WinterD. (1993) A Workbook of Group-analytic Interventions. London: Routledge.
17.
KennyD.VoieL. (1985) ‘Separating Individual and Group Effects’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology48: 339–48.
18.
KipnesD.R.PiperW.E.JoyceA.S. (2002) ‘Cohesion and Outcome in Short-term Psychodynamic Groups for Complicated Grief’, International Journal of Group Psychotherapy52(4): 483–509.
19.
KirschI.DeaconB.J.Huedo-MedinaT.B.ScoboriaA.MooreT.J.JohnsonB.T. (2008) ‘Initial severity and antidepressant benefits: A meta-analysis of data submitted to the Food and Drug Administration’, PLoS Medicine5(2): e45.
20.
KuschM. (2010) ‘Hacking’s historical epistemology: a critique of styles of reasoning. Studies In History and Philosophy of Science Part A’, 41(2): 158–73.
21.
LacknerJ.M.MorleyS.DowzerC.MesmerC.HamiltonS. (2004) ‘Psychological treatments for irritable bowel syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis’, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology72: 1100–113.
22.
LambertM.J.OglesB.M. (2004) ‘The efficacy and effectiveness of psychotherapy’, in LambertM.J. (ed.), Berger and Garfield’s Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change, 5th ed., pp. 139–93). New York: John Wiley and Sons.
23.
LanzaM.L.AndersonJ.BoisvertC.M.LeBlancA.FardyM.SteelB. (2002) ‘Assaultive behavior intervention in the veterans administration: Psychodynamic group psychotherapy compared to cognitive behavior therapy’, Perspectives in Psychiatric Care38(3): 89–97.
24.
LeykinY.DeRubeisR. (2009) ‘Allegiance in Psychotherapy Outcome Research: Separating Association from Bias’, Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice16(1): 54–65.
25.
LorentzenS. (2006) ‘Contemporary Challenges for Research in Group Analysis’, Group Analysis39(3): 321–40.
26.
LorentzenS.HøglendP. (2004) ‘Predictors of Change during Long-term Analytic Group Psychotherapy’, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics73(1): 25–35.
27.
LorentzenS.HøglendP. (2008) ‘Moderators of the Effect of Treatment Length in Long-term Psychodynamic Group Psychotherapy’, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics77: 321–22.
28.
LorentzenS.SextonH.C.HoglendP. (2004) ‘Therapeutic Alliance, Cohesion and Outcome in a Long-term Analytic Group. A Preliminary Study’, Nordic Journal of Psychiatry58(1): 33–40.
29.
LuborskyL.DiguerL.SeligmanD.A.RosenthalR.JohnsonS.HalperinG.. (1999) ‘The Researcher’s Own Therapeutic Allegiances—A “Wild Card” in Comparisons of Treatment Efficacy’, Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice6: 95–132.
30.
MacDonaldJ.SinasonV.HollinsS. (2003) ‘An Interview Study of People with Learning Disabilities’ Experience of, and Satisfaction with, Group Analytic Therapy’, Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice76(4): 433–53.
31.
MaceC. (2006) ‘Setting the World on Wheels: Some Clinical Challenges of Evidence-Based Practice’, Group Analysis39(3): 304–20.
32.
McDermutW.MillerI.W.BrownR.A. (2001) ‘The Efficacy of Group Psychotherapy for Depression: a Meta-analysis and Review of Empirical Research’, Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice8(9): 98–116.
33.
MischelW. (1973) ‘Toward a Cognitive Social Learning Reconceptualization of Personality’, Psychological ReportsVol. 80IS: 252–83.
34.
NICE. (2007) Depression: Management of Depression in Primary and Secondary Care—NICE Guidance.
35.
NICE. (2009a) Borderline Personality Disorder: Treatment and Management.
36.
NICE. (2009b) Depression: the Treatment and Management of Depression in Adults (update).
37.
O’RourkeK. (2007) ‘An Historical Perspective on Meta-analysis: Dealing Quantitatively with Varying Study Results’, J R Soc Med. 100(12): 579–82.
38.
OgrodniczukJ. (2006) ‘Men, Women and their Outcome in Psychotherapy’, Psychotherapy Research16(4): 453–62.
39.
OgrodniczukJ.S. (2003) ‘The Effect of Group Climate on Outcome in Two Forms of Short-term Group Therapy’, Group Dynamics7(1): 64–76.
40.
OgrodniczukJ.S.PiperW.E.JoyceA.S. (2006a) ‘Treatment compliance among patients with personality disorders receiving group psychotherapy: What are the roles of interpersonal distress and cohesion?’ Psychiatry69(3): 249–61.
41.
OgrodniczukJ. S.PiperW. E.JoyceA. S. (2006b) ‘Treatment compliance in different types of group psychotherapy: exploring the effect of age’, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders194(4): 287–93.
42.
ParryG. (2000) ‘Evidence based psychotherapy: special case or special pleading?’, Evidence Based Mental Health3: 35–7.
43.
PiperW.E.McCallumM.JoyceA.S.RosieJ.S.OgrodniczukJ.S. (2001) ‘Patient personality and time-limited group psychotherapy for complicated grief’, International Journal of Group Psychotherapy51(4): 525–52.
44.
RothA.FonagyP. (1996) What works for whom? A critical review of psychotherapy research. New York: Guilford Press.
45.
SandahlC.GergeA.HerlitzK. (2004) ‘Does treatment focus on self-efficacy result in better coping? Paradoxical findings from psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral group treatment of moderately alcohol-dependent patients’, Psychotherapy Research14(3): 388–97.
46.
SilberschatzG. (1994) ‘Abuse and disabuse of the drug metaphor in psychotherapy research: hold on to the baby as you throw out the bath’, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology62(5): 949–51.
47.
SmithM.L.GlassG.V. (1977) ‘Meta-analysis of psychotherapy outcome studies’, American PsychologistVol. 32, pp. 752–60.
48.
StrengerC. (1991) ‘Between hermeneutics and science. An essay on the epistemology of psychoanalysis’, Madison, Ct.: International Universities Press.
49.
TantamD. (1995) ‘Why select?’, in MaceC. (ed.) The Art and Science of Psychotherapy Assessment, pp. 1–30. London: Routledge.
50.
TantamD. (2002) Psychotherapy and Counselling in Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
51.
TascaG.A.RitchieK.ConradG.BalfourL.GaytonJ.LybanonV.. (2006) ‘Attachment scales predict outcome in a randomized controlled trial of two group therapies for Binge Eating Disorder: An aptitude by treatment interaction’, Psychotherapy Research16: 106–21.
52.
TerraccianoA.McCraeR.R.CostaP.T.Jr (2010) ‘Intra-individual change in personality stability and age’, Journal of Research in Personality44(1): 31–7.
53.
TyrerP.KendallT. (2009) ‘The spurious advance of antipsychotic drug therapy [Editorial]’, Lancet373(9657): 4–5.
54.
WatsonR.J.D.RichardsonD.H. (1999) ‘Accessing the literature on outcome studies in group psychotherapy: The sensitivity and precision of Medline and PsycINFO bibliographic database searching’, The British Journal of Medical Psychology72: 127–34.
55.
WeissF. (2006) ‘Psychodynamic group psychotherapy for the obese disordered-eating adult: a contemporary view’, Group30(4): 337–57.
56.
ZanariniM.C.FrankenburgF.R.HennenJ.ReichD.B.SilkK.R. (2006) ‘Prediction of the 10-Year Course of Borderline Personality Disorder’, American Journal of Psychiatry163(5): 827–32.
