Looking at the Therapeutic Change Through a Textual Analysis: Evidence from an Online Group Analytic Treatment

The expansion and consolidation of group therapy in online settings has generated, and continues to generate, significant debate, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities of this transition. This study aims to explore the main themes and underlying latent dimensions of a psychodynamic group psychotherapy conducted online. Forty-two clinical reports from a group of nine patients who participated in the first nine months of online group therapy were analyzed using qualitative textual analysis with T-Lab software. The analysis was carried out in two phases to capture both differences and the longitudinal development of the therapeutic process, comparing T1 (the first four months of therapy) and T2 (months four through nine). Utilizing the Psychodynamic Analysis of Narratives for Multiple Interpretative Levels (PAMIL), the study identified key latent themes, including the formation of the therapeutic alliance, the development of group cohesion, and the processes of sharing and comparing emotional experiences. The qualitative analysis of clinical session reports proved to be an effective method for investigating the less explicit dimensions of group dynamics in the online setting. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the specific processes activated in virtual psychodynamic group therapy and underscore the value of narrative material as a tool for both clinical and research purposes.