A time-limited dynamic approach to adolescent inpatient group psychotherapy

In response to sharply curtailed lengths of stay of adolescents in an inpatient psychiatric program, new therapeutic modalities need to be implemented. A time-limited dynamic approach to adolescent inpatient group psychotherapy is presented. The model integrates psychoanalytic and crisis theory into a group format. The primary focus in this model is upon resolution of problematic interpersonal interactions as they are related to the current crisis state. The group process, as related to the adolescent, involves three phases. These include an initial intake phase, which incorporates an ego-functioning assessment; a second or middle phase which focuses on making actions ego-alien; and the termination phase, which incorporates the learning experience and how it relates to the resolution of precipitators of the admission.