Group Therapy for Eating Disorders: A Retrospective Case Study

Abstract

An increasing amount of research supports group therapy as an effective treatment option for eating disorders (Moreno, 1994 Moreno , J. K. ( 1994 ). Group treatment for eating disorders . In A. Fuhriman & G. Burlingame (Eds.), Handbook of group psychotherapy: An empirical and clinical synthesis (pp. 416 – 457 ). New York : Wiley . [Google Scholar]). In an attempt to further delineate therapeutic factors associated with productive group work, this study represents an exploratory, descriptive analysis of client and therapist perspectives on group process and outcome. Specifically, this retrospective study investigated what clients and their therapist considered important, helpful, and problematic in an aftercare group for hospitalized patients with eating disorders. The therapist and client perspectives were considered separately. These data were then classified into four categories: importance, benefits, problems, and critical incidents. A follow-up discussion explores similarities and differences between therapist and client perspectives. Implications for practice and research are presented.