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It has become almost a truism that as scientists, therapists are interested in research. But as all truisms are suspect so we must question the therapist's concern with research. While I shall discuss in this paper obstacles to research in group psychotherapy, I believe that the problems are pertinent to the entire area of psychotherapy.
How much research goes on in connection with group psychotherapy? Steinbach 12 recently presented a survey of his findings regarding such research in the Veterans Administration. He had been a psychiatrist in the Veterans Administration and was concerned with the problems of V.A. psychiatric facilities. In 1958 he surveyed 59 mental hygiene clinics in the Veterans Administration and found that 40 clinics were using some form of group psychotherapy. Thirty-three of these clinics offered combined psychotherapy, individual and group. Psychiatrists are engaged in group psychotherapy in less than 20 clinics and had largely left the technique to social workers and psychologists. The fact that the journal of the American Group Psychotherapy Association has published only three articles from Veterans Administration clinics within the last five years may well reflect the current apathy toward research in group psychotherapy in the Veterans Administration at this time.
The Bioscience Information Exchange indicates that there is only minimal research in group psychotherapy in hospitals where group psychotherapy is used. The minimal research is carried on by the psychology departments. In the Veterans Administration, during 1958, only five projects were current or being planned in mental hygiene clinics, two of them sponsored by one installation. A total of only four out of 59 Veterans Administration mental hygiene clinics were involved in research. This, then is a brief report