Interpretive psychotherapy in the inpatient community meeting on a short-term unit

The authors present a model of inpatient community meetings conducted as large-group interpretive psychotherapy. The model focuses on the examination of relationships between patients and staff in the here-and-now and the patient group's maladaptive ways of interpreting staff members' behavior. The group leader and other staff members listen to patients' comments and questions and identify underlying group themes that reflect how patients are experiencing their relationship to staff. This model is useful even on short-term, acute inpatient units because it can provide an up-to-date monitor of the milieu, illuminate undesirable patient and staff behavior, uncover nontherapeutic activities or attitudes of staff, help improve patients' compliance with treatment, and reduce tension on the unit.