You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
S. R. Slavson, the innovator of activity group therapy, has made a major contribution to the development of group psychotherapy as well as to the growth and development of many children who have benefited from the application of his productive and creative ideas. A well-known teacher and group therapy consultant, he has written many articles and books on the subject of analytic group therapy, group work, recreation, and other group-related subjects. This most recent book, written with Mortimer Schiffer, a long-time associate, is a conscientious, detailed, scholarly text offering numerous concrete suggestions for group therapists in their work with children in various modalities. The treatment methods discussed in their order of presentation with many case examples are activity group therapy (AGT), activity-interview group psychotherapy (A-IGP), play group therapy (PGT), the therapeutic play group (TGP), therapy in schools, and therapy in transitional groups.
Among other subjects the volume discusses basic concepts of child psychotherapy; similarities and differences in theories of group therapies for children; the appropriateness of treatment depending on the developmental nature of the particular child; the selection of patients for the group; and the therapeutic methods in schools and institutions.
The authors believe that activity group therapy is the treatment of choice for a large number of latency-age children, and the exclusive method of treatment for primary behavior disorders and character disorders.
The activity group therapist is trained to be “passive” with the group, not to interpret but mainly to listen, observe, and study. This is differentiated from the role of the social group worker as well as the group analyst. The authors liken the role of the therapist in AGT to that of the “ideal parent.” The leader is to respond to the children in the group as a most positive father or mother figure. Improvement results when the child internalizes and identifies