ABSTRACT
In her landmark paper, Estela Welldon states, “Group analyticpsychotherapy is frequently the best form of treatment, not onlyfor severely disturbed perverse patients but also for sexual abusers, and sexually abused patients” (Welldon, 1996, p. 63). The experience at the Portman Clinic is that group treatment has been an effective form of psychotherapy, not for all, but perhaps the majority of our patients. The effectiveness of group treatment in general is being substantiated by empirical evidence (Burlingame, Fishman, & Mosier, 2003; Leichsenring & Leibing, 2003; Lorentzen, 2000; Taylor, 2000). In addition, at a time when cost effectiveness is ever more crucial, it is important to note that society also benefits from this treatment (Dolan, Warren, Menzies, & Norton, 1996; Hall & Mullee, 2000). Although there is much evidence for the effectiveness of the groupanalytic model (Blackmore, Tantum, Parry, & Chambers, 2012), the majority of group work in many settings is highly structured, using a cognitive approach in order to correct faulty patterns of thinking and provide skills training (Saunders, 2008). This has meant that group
process has been largely unexplored (Morgan & Flora, 2002, p. 204). The aim of this publication is to redress that balance by adding a psychodynamic perspective.
