ABSTRACT
An important development in psychiatric rehabilitation has been the increasing use of behavioral group therapy techniques, which combine psychological and educational methods to change behavior and to teach a variety of adaptive skills. The term “behavioral group therapy” has had three primary definitions during the course of development of this field. In its first (and most common) meaning, behavioral group therapy refers to the application in a group setting of behavior change techniques that initially were developed in individual therapy, such as systematic desensitization. When defined in this way, behavioral group therapy usually is directive, interpretive, and focused on the behaviors of individual group members. Goldstein, Heller, and Sechrest (1966) have referred to this as the process of doing behavior therapy in groups, as opposed to doing it through groups.
