Training Patients for Effective Participation in Back-Home Groups

The Human Relations Training Laboratory, a problem-centered patient-group education program utilizing the feedback method, encourages self-expression, helps participants to recognize and develop their own assets and resources, enables them to contribute something of value, and engages them in creative decision making. Most participants selected for the program suffer from anxiety and depressive reactions, character disorders, and alcoholism; the problem involves moving the participant from external toward internal control. The authors summarize results of several evaluation studies.