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A group therapy program was undertaken on the female adolescent ward* in an attempt to study the process, development and the particular problems involved in the handling of this age group. Scharfman and Clark17, in their work with acting-out adolescents, demonstrated the usefulness and effect of a similar therapeutic milieu in an intensive setting.
The group was started with nine early adolescent in-patients, ranging in age from eleven to fifteen. The majority of these adolescents were admitted on a minor voluntary application and had been referred from city hospitals, municipal courts, city residential treatment centers, schools and community agencies. A few were brought in directly from home.
The patients were invited to the group soon after they were admitted to the ward. No attempt was made to assign them on the basis of diagnosis. The meetings were held three times a week and lasted for one hour and fifteen minutes. They were also seen regularly in individual sessions, and at times together with their families. They were placed on medication if necessary. A total of seventeen patients passed through the program in a six-month period. This was the hospital's policy but it seemed appropriate for the time needed to rehabilitate this type of patient. The problems created by the turnover of the patients were adequately handled by the group so that the group was not disrupted. The group members generally welcomed and accepted the newcomers. Some felt that the new members would add new perspectives to the group discussions. Others felt suspicious or were reserved in their involvement with new members for some time.
The diagnostic breakdown of the patients participating is as follows:
Schizophrenic Reaction Undifferentiated …………………………… 11
Antisocial Behavior ……………… 4
Psychosis with Convulsive Disorders 2
Total ……………………………… 17
Since only half of the ward participated in the group meetings, I established a rule that whatever went on in the group must remain in strict confidence