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The application of relaxation, visualization, and hypnosis in group psychotherapy
 
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Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II, Instytut Psychologii, Katedra Psychologii Wychowawczej i Rodziny
 
 
Submission date: 2025-09-30
 
 
Final revision date: 2026-01-18
 
 
Acceptance date: 2026-02-08
 
 
Publication date: 2026-10-28
 
 
Psychoter 2026;217(2):61-71
 
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ABSTRACT
The present article aims to expand the understanding of the clinical utility of relaxation, visualization, and hypnosis in the context of group psychotherapy. Group psychotherapy emerged as a therapeutic modality in medicine during the 1940s and has since undergone numerous adaptations in response to the evolving nature of clinical practice. Theoretical and technical approaches employed within group psychotherapy are diverse, encompassing cognitive- behavioral, psychoeducational, interpersonal, Gestalt, psychoanalytic, dynamic-interactional, psychodramatic, and other frameworks. Relaxation techniques—most notably Schulz’s Autogenic Training and Jacobson’s Progressive Muscle Relaxation—represent well-established and widely applied methods in group psychotherapy, frequently described in the relevant literature. Visualization and hypnosis, although less commonly utilized within group settings, may nonetheless provide substantial benefits for both individual participants and the group as a whole. Following a literature-based introduction, the author presents clinical examples illustrating the application of relaxation, visualization, and hypnotic methods. The clinical material is drawn from a long-term, semi-open, and heterogeneous psychotherapy group conducted in an outpatient setting, meeting weekly for 180 minutes. The primary aim of the group is the alleviation of symptoms and the facilitation of personality change in its members. The article details the use of hypnotic trance with the entire group, as well as individualized interventions conducted within the group framework, including the affective bridge and ego reintegration techniques. Each intervention is discussed and justified in relation to the ongoing group process and accompanied by clinical commentary.
eISSN:2391-5862
ISSN:0239-4170
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