Compatibility - the key to group therapy?

Day-hospital programmes are often recommended for people suffering from eating disorders. They often use group therapy to treat people but there has been little research into which aspects of this are the most important for people's recovery. One aspect of this that researchers are particularly interested in is group cohesion - the 'forces acting on the members of the group to remain in the group.' Group cohesion is, in turn, made up of components such as commitment to the group, compatibility of the group and the extent to which the content of the programme stimulates members. Researchers from Westmead Hospital in New South Wales looked into this issue in a study of 36 women going through an eating disorders day treatment programme. They found that the programme did lead to an improvement in the women's condition and of the aspects of group cohesion it was compatibility that was associated with attendance and treatment response.

Crino, Natalie and Djokvucic, Ivana - Cohesion to the group and its association with attendance and early treatment response in an adult day-hospital program for eating disorders: a preliminary clinical investigation Clinical Psychologist, July 2010, 14(2), 54-61