Division 49 (Society of Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy)

Until the very end Tim Beck, as he was known to those close to him, was invested in the lives and work of his family, friends, colleagues, and mentees, enthusiastically communicating his sincere interest, ideas, and good will to everyone he could reach.

March 2021
Group Dynamics: Research, Theory, and Practice
Research is needed to understand the group, member, and leader factors that influence the process of rupture and repair.

January 15, 2021
APA Services, Inc.
The COVID-19 pandemic is prompting more people to seek help. Here’s how practitioners can meet that demand.

September 2020
Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice

This paper is available as a free download on the journal webpage.

Mandated vaccinations or quarantines during an epidemic are necessary to limit the spread of communicable diseases, but certain groups resist these initiatives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-quarantine groups protested the mandate to socially distance and remain at home. Forsyth’s analysis of media descriptions determined that these groups’ responses to a legally and medically warranted health initiative resulted from groupthink: the deterioration of judgment and rationality that sometimes occurs in groups. The conditions that cause groupthink include high levels of cohesion and isolation and group illusions and pressures to conform. For centuries, public health interventions have generated opposing anti-regulation reactions, and so no amount of planning may be sufficient to prevent such groups. Forsyth argues that a group dynamics understanding of the phenomenon may lead to group-level interventions that directly address the processes that cause groupthink, such as isolation, conformity pressure, and cohesion. Interventions informed by a group dynamics perspective could reduce the influence of such groups on their members and on society.

June 25, 2020
Division 49 (Society for Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy)
As a Board, we want to be active in creating and following through on concrete actions to bring about change. We have discussed ways to raise awareness and challenge ourselves to be more proactive in combatting racism, discrimination, and social inequity.

June 18, 2020
Division 49 (Society for Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy)
Information about providing telehealth and a sample consent form.

April 14, 2020
The Group Psychologist, Division 49 newsletter
Tevya Zukor, PhD, discusses the stresses associated with the pandemic as well as the need to maintain social connections even while physically distancing from others.

April 10, 2020
APA Services
Group therapists are responding to COVID-19 by rapidly transitioning from in-person to online therapies.