Complexities With Group Therapy Facilitation in Substance Use Disorder Specialty Treatment Settings

Course overview

This course discusses a study of group therapy to examine the gap in evidence-based therapy and group therapy practice. This qualitative inquiry interviewed several group therapists specializing in substance use disorder treatment at three SUD outpatient clinics. Evidence-based practice was examine and several themes emerged, including: balancing flexibility and structure, necessity of flexibility embedded into existing structures and processes, flexibility emphasized for using manualized therapies, necessity of clinician accommodations and adaptations, complex group dynamics, limited clinician experience and training, reliance on didactic education, limited training, supervision, and quality control, and therapy vs classes.