A Comparative Study on the Therapeutic Factors of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama Applied to Psychotic Patients

Yoon, Sung Chul; Lee, Hoo Kyeong; Jung, In Kwa; Lee, Kyu Hang; Hahm, Woong; Cha, Jeong Hwa

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
This study was performed to investigate the therapeutic factors of group psychotherapy and psychodrama which were applied to psychotic patients, and to compare the therapeutic characteristics of two therapies.
METHODS
The subjects of this study were patients of a day hospital from September 1996 to May 1997. The subjects were composed of 35 psychotic patents(22 males, 13 females). Both of group psychotherapy and psychodrama were done to the patients of the day hospital. After these therapeutic factors were checked by the members of group psychotherapy, the protagonists of psychodrama, and the audience of psychodrama using 13 therapeutic factors scale. All three groups divided into higher functioning group and lower functioning group by mutual consent of the therapists in the treatment team meeting according to the patient's life of the day hospital, the attitude in programs, and the state during the interview with the therapist. And then therapeutic factors of higher and lower functioning group were compared. By the mean score of each therapeutic factor the rank of therapeutic factors was decided. By these ranks we compared the important therapeutic factors on the members of group psychotherapy, the protagonists, and the audience.
RESULTS
The results were as follows : 1) The protagonists of psychodrama set a very high value on 'catharsis' and 'the corrective recapitulation of the primary family group', regardless of their functional level. 2) The protagonists with a higher function set a higher value on 'guidance of therapists', while those who had a lower function set a higher value on 'guidance of members'. 3) The audience of psychodrama set a very high value on 'identification with therapists', 'identification with members', and set a high value on 'universality'. 4) The higher functioning group of the group psychotherapy, the audience, and the protagonists set a high value on 'interpersonal learning', especially the patients of group psychotherapyset a very high value on 'interpersonal learning' 5) The lower functioning group of the protagonists and the group psychotherapy set a high value on 'development of socializing techniques'.
CONCLUSION
From the results of this study, we can draw some suggestions. First, if therapists take the above-mentioned therapeutic factors into consideration during the sessions of group psychotherapy or psychodrama, they can obtain more effective therapeutic outcome. Second, it is desirable that both group psychotherapy and psychodrama should be used more extensively as important methods of treatment in clinical settings. Third, the combination of group psychotherapy and psychodrama would be more effective than the separate application of each therapy.