Use of the social relations model by group therapists: application and commentary

This article presents research findings concerning the relationship of patient positive regard to the outcome of time-limited, short-term group therapy for psychiatric outpatients with complicated grief. The Social Relations Model (SOREMO) of David Kenny was used to investigate this relationship. While the patient's ratings of positive regard of others in the group, known as the Perceiver Effect, accounted for the most variation of the patients' ratings, the other patients' rating of the patient's positive regard, known as the Target Effect, was directly related to favorable change. In addition, a simpler method was used to calculate variables that were analogous to the Perceiver Effect and Target Effect variables of the SOREMO. These variables yielded similar outcome findings. Because of limitations and difficulties associated with learning and using the SOREMO, the simpler method represents a more feasible choice for group therapists who are primarily clinicians or group therapists who wish to collect a small amount of data on an ongoing basis. Even experienced group therapy researchers are likely to find the SOREMO program challenging to use.