Group therapy in Leningrad

Abstract

The author traces the development of group therapy in the Soviet Union based on a review of the literature and his experiences in Leningrad as a Faculty Exchange Scholar. Although early approaches used hypnotherapy and educational techniques, the Bolshevik revolution introduced the concept of the collective, which subsequently influenced group therapy. Recently, personality-focused models and approaches similar to those in the West have been advocated, especially at the Bekhterev Institute in Leningrad. The author describes his experiences supervising two Soviet clinicians who coled a therapy group for inpatient schizophrenics using techniques he developed in the United States.