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Psychodynamic Group Psychotherapy, 4th ed. J. Scott Rutan, Walter N. Stone, 8c Joseph Shay. Guilford Press. 2007, 436 pages, $48.00 Hardcover.
This is the fourth edition of this classic in group psychotherapy literature. Not many books in our field receive or deserve a fourth edition. Is this volume worthy? Let's see.
First, and perhaps most importantly, the writing is clear and clean, unadorned by jargon and sesquipedalism (such as this). Technical writing of such lucidity and efficiency is no mean achievement. That this excellence is maintained throughout a book by three different authors is a tribute to the quality of the collaboration. Difficult concepts are explained well and in depth but without oversimplification. Clinical examples are used copiously throughout and invariably richly illustrate the point under discussion while avoiding extraneous details.
The organization of the book is outstanding. Chapters end with a summary of a paragraph or two detailing the key points covered in the main text. The flow from chapter to chapter is smooth, but each chapter stands on its own and can be consulted beneficially if the reader has a specific question.
The majority of the book is devoted to basic issues, such as group formation, patient selection, group dynamics, group development, therapeutic factors, and mechanisms of change. There is a particularly useful chapter on beginning a group. The role of the group therapist is presented in a multi-dimensional model, as it was in the first edition. For a newcomer to our field, experiencing a flood of data...