TY - JOUR TI - An exploratory study of the creation of a group psychotherapy training clinic DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T39G5MM4 PY - 2010 AB - Many graduate schools do not have extensive histories of offering graduate training in group psychotherapy. In the past several years, however, there has been an initiative at a graduate school in psychology at a large research university in the Northeast, led by the cooperative efforts of interested graduate students, professors, school administrators, and supervising psychologists in the community, to originate and implement a program of graduate training in group psychotherapy, named Group Psychotherapy Services (GPS). A qualitative study of the process by which this program came to creation is presented here. The goals of this study are to understand the roles of the individuals involved, the particular successes and failures of the program’s creation, and the elements critical to its ongoing and future existence. Utilized in this paper are semi-structured interviews with the involved students, faculty, and supervisors, analysis of these interviews through empirically supported qualitative research methodology, and an exploration of the important themes and conclusions drawn from this analysis, in combination with relevant observations from the author’s perspective as participant observer in the process. The significant themes that arose from the interview data touched on resistance to group psychotherapy, the nature of previous attempts to institute more extensive training in group at this institution, the experience of graduate students in the program development process, the varied roles played by school administrators, the experience of clinical supervisors, and the ways in which the future continuity of the program is being planned. The author’s own observations about the similarities between the development of GPS and the creation of a psychotherapy group according to Yalom’s (2005) early stages of group development are offered. A brief model for the expansion of group psychotherapy training services at similar institutions is proposed. KW - Clinical Psychology KW - Group psychotherapy--Study and teaching (Graduate)--Case studies KW - Qualitative research--Methodology LA - eng ER -