Group Therapy

To appreciate the power of a group therapy model, a discussion should begin with a brief discussion of the history and evolution of group treatment. This format for treating adult language impairments came into being as a response to the overwhelming number of World War II veterans with head injuries requiring treatment. Procedures for group treatment were established through the U.S. Veterans Affairs hospital system, and from its inception the group treatment format varied with respect to treatment philosophy and objectives. While much of the group treatment was a replication of individual treatment at the group level with persons placed in treatment groups organized by linguistic skill set, some programs incorporated a social component aimed at generalizing language skills to communication. This took the form ...