The authors selected 11 chronic hemodialysis patients for a brief group
psychotherapy program, the primary objective of which was to produce
congnitive and affective changes pertaining to the illness. Each of the 10
therapy sessions lasted 1/2 hours and was conducted while the patients were
actually on dialysis. Three therapists rated outcome as "good," "fair," or
"poor" on 10 objective criteria, and subjective impressions of the group
experience were obtained from each patient. The study demonstrated the
benefical effects of group therapy, although there was no statistically
significant difference between patients in the three outcome
categories.
Abstract Teaser