Members’ Feedback After a Spiritual Group Psychotherapy for Inpatient, Residential, and Intensive Treatment (SPIRIT)

ABSTRACT

Six hundred and fifty-four inpatients who participated in a spiritual group therapy intervention provided qualitative feedback regarding what helped them and what could be improved. Patients revealed that enjoying a sense of connection with other people and a sense of openness in the groups and simply talking about spirituality with other people was helpful to them. Many group members requested that groups go on for a longer amount of time than 12 sessions, to have longer sessions, and to have more frequent meetings. In addition, members described improvements that could be made to the group, including members’ being better screened, leaders preventing individual members from dominating discussions or from being quiet or leaving the group early, and members’ wanting more structure as well as more open discussion. The findings highlight the importance of connection, openness, and spirituality when implementing spiritual group interventions in hospital settings. Implications for future research, training, and clinical interventions are discussed.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

C. Marmarosh

Cheri L. Marmarosh is a Research Professor at Divine Mercy University and the Director of the International Center for the Psychology of Spirituality and Mental Health. Dr. Marmarosh is also an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at the George Washington University and has been there for 19 years where she has been studying how attachment relates to coping with oppression, ruptures and their repairs to the therapy alliance, and outcome in individual and group psychotherapy. Dr. Marmarosh has published over 50 empirical and theoretical articles that focus on how group and individual psychotherapy facilitate change. Dr. Marmarosh is the lead author of two books, Attachment in Group Psychotherapy and Groups: Fostering a Culture of Change. Dr. Marmarosh is the current editor for The International Journal of Group Psychotherapy. She is a Board Certified Psychologist (ABPP), and she is a Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA), Division 29 (Psychotherapy), and Division 49 (Group) of the APA. Dr. Marmarosh is certified group therapist, past president for Division 49, and the current Domain Representative for Training/Education for Division 29 (Psychotherapy). Juliane Nguyen, MPsy, is a fourth year doctoral student in Clinical Psychology from Divine Mercy University. Her general research interests include the integration of spirituality and psychotherapy with a particular focus in underserved populations. Melanie Williams, Psy.D., is a postdoctoral resident and a recent graduate from the APA Accredited program at Divine Mercy University with extensive clinical experience and a focus on integrative approaches to individual psychotherapy, group therapy, psychological assessment, and community psychoeducation. Her research includes religious coping, spirituality, and group dynamics. Matthew Flanagan, Psy.D., is a postdoctoral resident and a recent graduate from the APA Accredited program at Divine Mercy University with extensive clinical experience and a focus on integrative approaches to individual psychotherapy, group therapy, and child psychotherapy. His research includes attachment, parenting, religion and spirituality, and group dynamics. David H. Rosmarin, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of the McLean Hospital Spirituality and Mental Health Program, and Director of the Center for Anxiety in New York. (www.centerforanxiety.org). Dr. Rosmarin’s program of research examines the relevance of spiritual/religious issues to psychopathology and its treatment. He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications and 100 abstracts focused on spirituality and mental health. Dr. Rosmarin’s work has received media attention from ABC, NPR, Scientific American, the Boston Globe and the New York Times.