Group Psychotherapy in the Soviet Union
ISIDORE ZIFERSTEIN M.D.1
1 Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of California at Los Angeles, and Research Consultant, Postgraduate Center for Mental Health
The decisive influence on the theory and practice of Soviet collective psychotherapy came not from psychiatry but from the field of education. Thus a major aspect of it is education and reeducation—employing the powerful influence of the peer-group collective under the therapist's guidance. The major emphasis is on emotional support, guidance, and reeducation. The author discusses the historical development of collective psychotherapy and the four major contributors to it.
