Underutilization of short-term group therapy: enigmatic or understandable?

Given the evidence for the efficacy, applicability, and efficiency of the group therapies, they appear to be underutilized by clinicians, therapists, and researchers. This article considers reasons for their underutilization. The article also considers procedures for lessening patient and therapist tendencies to resist participating in the group therapies relative to individual therapies. Underutilization not only deprives patients of effective treatment for a wide range of problems but deprives therapists from experiencing fascinating and rewarding therapeutic processes. That has been the experience of the author after more than 35 years of conducting and studying group therapies.