Therapeutic Factors in Group Psychotherapy: A Study of Egyptian Drug Addicts

Abstract

The effect of group therapy on substance-dependent patients has been demonstrated in several studies emphasizing the cost-effectiveness of this intervention. However, little research was conducted on how group therapy can help these patients. The objective of this article is to study the therapeutic factors of group therapy among a group of substance-dependent patients and to study the relation between the therapeutic factors of group therapy with these patients and clinical outcome of relapse or continuing abstinence. The study includes 80 patients divided into two groups. Group I includes 40 substance-dependent patients attending group therapy sessions. Group II is a comparison group of 40 substance-dependent patients who did not attend group therapy. Both groups received the same treatment except for group therapy. All subjects were diagnosed according to a structured interview applying the International Classification of Diseases-10th Revision. Fifteen-session group therapy was conducted for Group I, and subjects were subjected to the Yalom test for assessing group therapeutic factors. The relapse/sobriety outcome was assessed and compared between the two groups 1 year after the intervention. All subjects have been subjected to drug screening before and after 1 year follow-up. The relation between choice of the therapeutic factor and outcome was studied. Group I patients cited the most helpful therapeutic factor in group therapy as catharsis, followed by group cohesiveness and interpersonal learning (output). Identification is perceived as the least helpful factor in group therapy. One year into the study, 52.5 % of Group I remained sober in comparison to 22.5 % of Group II. No significant statistical relation was found between the choice of therapeutic factor and the outcome in Group I subjects. The most helpful factor perceived by addicts in group therapy is catharsis, followed by group cohesiveness and interpersonal learning (output). Patients who received group therapy had a significantly more favorable outcome rate than those who received other modes of treatment.