Group Therapy with Patients in the Waiting Room of an Oncology Clinic.

Arnowitz, Edward; Brunswick, Lynne; Kaplan, Barry H.

The article describes a group therapy in chronically ill and dying patients to help improve the quality of their lives. When the group first began, members were reluctant to discuss their personal experiences. Each individual saw him or herself as unique in experiencing pain and in being isolated from human contact. Many group members said they felt like tuberculosis patients of thirty years ago stigmatized and socially isolated. During one early session, a member told the anecdote of a woman with cancer, who at a fashionable dinner party was given a paper cup to drink from so as not to infect the other guests. As they discussed their feelings and experiences, members of the group discovered that they were coping with cancer in similar ways. One measure of growing intimacy among group members was their ability to discuss their fantasies. The group members also actively provided support for each other. Family members openly discussed problems in family communication and used the group to explore their conflicts.

GROUP psychotherapy; CHRONICALLY ill patient care; CANCER patients; SOCIAL stigma; IMAGINATION; ONCOLOGY

Social Work, 1983, Vol 28, Issue 5, p395

0037-8046

Academic Journal

10.1093/sw/28.5.395