Group Therapy

Group therapy can teach members new ways of interacting, but it can also reinforce old, unhealthy ones. Waldram and Wong (1995) observed groups in a Canadian psychiatric hospital unit that treated criminals. Of the twenty-four patients who lived in the unit, one-third were Aboriginal, descended from various native Canadian tribes. The groups were intended to be a "therapeutic community," where the inmates could help each other learn to take responsibility for their own actions. However, the Aboriginal patients had problems learning from the group, for several reasons. Many of the Aboriginal inmates came from cultures in which talking loudly, "boasting" about oneself, and making eye contact for long periods are considered extremely rude, making it difficult for them to communicate in large groups. More importantly, the hospital staff, all Canadians of European descent, had never lived on a tribal reservation and were not interested in discussing the racism the Aboriginal patients confronted. As a result, many of the Aboriginal inmates felt that the groups simply recreated Canadian society at large: the "white" Canadians made the rules and thought they knew what was best for the Aboriginal people. Instead of helping them manage their behavior, the groups taught the Aboriginals that European Canadians would never understand them.