Enhancing addiction treatment through psychoeducational groups.

Clients with an addiction disorder generally present with an ego deficit in the area of self-care. This deficiency manifests itself in an inability to suffer and struggle with day-to-day problem solving. Outpatient addiction treatment today places significant resources in psychotherapy and psychodynamic group therapy often at the expense of teaching basic life skills our clients need to negotiate day-to-day living. To address both issues of ego and life skills deficits, the use of a psychoeducational group is presented. This specialized, task-oriented didactic group experience is a necessary component of a comprehensive addiction treatment program. A psychoeducational group in the treatment of addictions can serve as a synthesis for problem-solving skills training used in mental health and the psychodynamic theory of addictive behavior. Cases are presented to illustrate the efficacy of psychoeducational groups.