Psychodynamic Group Psychotherapy

Although Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) never applied his principles to group therapy, he did have a regular group that met in his apartment beginning in 1902. The Wednesday Psychological Society included psychoanalysis luminaries such as Karl Abraham (1877–1925), Alfred Adler (1870–1937), Sandor Ferenczi (1873–1933), Carl Jung (1875–1961), and Otto Rank (1884–1939), who kept notes and collected the dues. Founded to discuss psychoanalytical theory, over time, it became so highly personal and contentious that in 1908 Freud disbanded the group and re-formed it under a new name that he hoped would keep it more academic in focus: The Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. Today, psychodynamic group psychotherapy is grounded in Freud’s psychoanalytical theory, and most modern theories of psychological treatment owe some debt to Freud’s pioneering insights. For instance, ...