Over the past 25 years, I have written numerous articles and one book on ethics and boundaries in group psychotherapy. The following PowerPoint is a schematic representation of my research findings. The basic thesis is that alterations of the frame of treatment always have consequences. And while boundary crossings are not inherently boundary violations, they may still be problematic. Boundary violations constitute abuses of power because they may produce iatrogenic treatment reactions, negative reactions that are related to the treatment itself. Abuses of power can occur when group members and their leaders have social contact outside of the treatment setting. In the case of dual relationships at analytic group training institutes, for example, group leaders may also be the supervisors, administrators, teachers, colleagues, friends and even relatives of their group patients. Similarly group members may simultaneously be fellow, supervisees, students, colleagues, friends and even relatives of each other. These complicated relationships appear to be endemic to the field of group psychotherapy, and are independent of the character structure of group leaders and are independent of their theoretical orientations.
Ethics and Boundaries
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About the Author: Robert S. Pepper, Phd.
Dr. Pepper has been running groups for over twenty-five years and specializes in group therapy. He has a special gift in helping member's resolve conflicts with.
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Interesting blog post.
I am impressed with the depth and breadth of Dr. Pepper’s research and his exhaustive bibliography on the important but little studied topic of boundaries in group psychotherapy. No one has addressed this subject to the extent to which Dr. Pepper has. I would like to extend a note of gratitude to him for opening the door to the discussion of this overlooked dynamic in our profession.