A GROUP THERAPY PROJECT WITH PARENTS OF BEHAVIOR PROBLEM CHILDREN IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
A. D. BUCHMUELLER A. B., M. S.1, and
MARGARET C.-L. GILDEA M. D.1
1 Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.
Two groups of mothers of behavior problem children have been meeting for group therapy in public schools. The method of group therapy used approximates those described by Slavson and Amster(11, 4).
The J group is composed of 8 members of whom 6 are very regular in attending the weekly sessions. The mothers represent 13 children. The H group has fluctuated more in composition. There have been 12 mothers representing 12 children, but their attendance has been much less regular than the J group.
On the basis of carefully collected data from home and school, of the 13 children whose mothers are in the J group, 9 have shown measurable improvement. Four are apparently unchanged.
Of the 12 youngsters whose mothers have attended the H group 9 are significantly better in behavior and adjustment, 3 are unchanged.
In both groups the parents of the children who are unchanged have been irregular in attendance, with the exception of one J group mother who has attended regularly but who in spite of increased insight has been unable to effect much change in her 2 children's behavior.
The authors are cognizant of the fact that other shifting elements in the situations surrounding these children may be partly responsible for the improvement seen in each case. Nevertheless the marked improvement shown in home behavior as well as in school in this brief experimental period points to the effectiveness of this method of approach to the problems of the preadolescent child.
