FORMAL nursing education traditionally has been concerned with the diadic nursepatient relationship. In the past several years there has been a rapid development and use of group processes and techniques in psychiatric hospitals. However, the majority of nurses in these institutions have not had significant formal instruction in group dynamics, milieu therapy, or general group therapy. The absence of knowledge and practical experience minimizes the nurses' contributions possible within a therapeutic milieu.5
Cognizant of this lack of knowledge of group processes and the increasing awareness of its significance in patient care, the nursing section of the Institute for Psychosomatic and Psychiatric Research and Training of Michael Reese Hospital approached the hospital's social group worker for a series of formal lectures on group processes. Subsequently a modified Training Group evolved.
A common definition of a training group is: A relatively unstructured group in which individuals participate as learners utilizing the