Abstract
Psychological adjustment to disability involves recognition of the life changes and losses brought about by illness and a restructuring of the ego that will allow for the incorporation of one's self-image to include the person's disability. This paper addresses itself specifically to the difficulties blind patients have in developing a psychological acceptance of their blindness, and the way in which time-limited group psychotherapy can facilitate this process. The author discusses in detail the following issues: establishing a group, group cohesion, transference, countertransference, the mourning process, therapeutic tasks, and treatment interventions. The author's results indicate that time-limited group psychotherapy offers several distinct advantages over individual treatment, and that this modality should be seriously considered when working with patients suffering severe medical losses.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Carroll, T. J.Blindness: What it is, what it does, and how to live with it. Toronto, Canada: Little Brown, 1961.
Cholden, L.A psychiatrist works with blindness. New York: American Foundation For the Blind, 1958.
Rapoport, L. The state of crisis: Some theoretical considerations. In H. Parad (Ed.)Crisis intervention, New York: Family Service Association, 1965.
Yalom, I. D.The theory and practice of group pschotherapy (2nd ed). New York: Basic Books, 1975.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Krausz, S.L. Group psychotherapy with legally blind patients. Clin Soc Work J 8, 37–49 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00761076
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00761076