ABSTRACT

A wide variety of psychotherapeutic treatments for substance abuse and dependence have been adapted for use in a group format (Khantzian, Golden-Schulman, & McAuliffe, 2004). us, there are cognitive-behavioral groups, process-oriented groups, relapse prevention groups, psychoeducational groups, and so forth. ere are also numerous peer-led self-help groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). is diversity can make it difficult to define what group therapy is. For the purposes of the present chapter, we focus on groups that are led by trained professionals and define group therapy as “two or more unrelated clients and a therapist who

meet together regularly, with the primary goal of reducing or eliminating substance use, or of addressing behaviors related to substance use” (Weiss, Jaffee, de Menil, & Cogley, 2004). We do not discuss self-help groups such as AA, because the empirical evidence in support of them is equivocal at best despite a widespread belief in their benefits (Mueller, Petitjean, Boening, & Wiesbeck, 2007; Shearer, 2007).