Psychology

Group therapy is one of the most important features of counseling psychology. In order to further assess its importance in our society today, it would be necessary to discuss three relevant peer-reviewed journal articles that focus on the effects of group therapies to specific group of psychologically compromised patients. Consequently, the findings of this research paper suggest that group therapies are beneficial to adult patients with ADHD, females who were sexually abused during childhood, and to men who have faced emotional disturbances.

Psychology is one of the most diverse branches of Science nowadays which deals with the study of human behavioral patterns, personality, and social interrelationships (Seager  Thummel, 2009).

Subject areas under Psychology are likely to arouse the interest of many individuals because they are usually based on the interpretation of individual functioning and group performance of population aggregates (Bramham et al., 2009) In line with this, counseling psychology is one of the sub-divisions of Psychology which manifests ideas regarding various approaches that will employ renewal of the mental and emotional capacities of psychologically disturbed patients and other ordinary individuals (Lundqvist et al., 2006). Group therapy, on the other hand, is one of the most interesting topics of counseling psychology which deals on the nature, types, dimensions, and immediate to long term effects of group therapies to psychological patients. In order for a Psychologist to gain more familiarity on the topic of group therapy, they must learn to develop and employ skills related to finding, evaluating, and analyzing resources within the field of psychology. In accordance to this, the goal of this research paper is to execute a journal search on the Capella Library and collect one main journal article and two related peer-reviewed journal articles which focus on the topic of group therapies. These articles must be critically analyzed in order to reveal the reason by which they are considered scholarly and to be able to compare and contrast these articles to each other, an activity which will show if the concepts of each document contradicts or agrees with that of the other articles. The three journal articles that will be used in this study are the following Evaluation of group cognitive behavioral therapy for adults with ADHD by Braham et al. (2009), Group therapy for woman sexually abused as children mental health before and after group therapy by Lundqvist et al., (2006), and, Chocolates and flowers You must be joking Of men and tenderness in group therapy by Seager and Thummer (2009).

Discussion
Evaluation of group cognitive behavioral therapy for adults with ADHD
This study is the primary article that was used in this research paper. It deals on the effectiveness of brief cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on the reduction of comorbid symptoms of adult patients that were diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Bramham et al., 2009).

Adults with ADHD are said to have suffered more emotional and intellectual criticisms from their peers as they grew up because of the fact that their medical abnormality was not identified on the earlier phase of childhood (Bramham et al., 2009). The underlying concepts of this study was hinged on the idea that adult ADHD patients will acquire more knowledge about their medical abnormality, will experience reduced comorbid symptoms, and will fully benefit from the potential effects of a supportive circle once they are exposed to the activities of a cognitive behavioral therapy group (Bramham et al., 2009). Consequently, the goal of the researchers was to bring about changes in the knowledge, self-esteem, and self-efficacy of the patients after their exposure to the group therapy interventions (Bramham et al., 2009). In order to fulfill this goal, the researchers recruited 61 Caucasian clients, all of which are diagnosed with ADHD upon their exposure to the DSM-IV criteria, and were asked to attend three one-day ADHD workshop series in three months at the Maudsley Hospital in London (Bramham et al., 2009). Intervention methods employed during the group therapies involved the completion of sessions which were directed to address the problems on memory, impulsivity, frustration and anger, anxiety, depression, social relationships, time management, problem solving and preparing for the future (Bramham et al., 2009, pg. 436).

Furthermore, it is worthy to note that the main goal of the CBT was to encourage the adult ADHD patients to open themselves to the dimensions of a group endeavor and to motivate them to help themselves revolutionize the manner by which they view the things that happen in their lives in order to create a more rewarding lifestyle (Bramham et al., 2009). After the completion of the aforementioned intervention methods, data collected from the participants were analyzed and were subjected to statistical treatments. Results showed that brief group cognitive behavioral therapy treatments are potential and highly promising methods to promote individual renewal of the adult ADHD patients in order for them to utilize psychological concepts to repair their self-esteem, empower their cognitive capabilities, and recognize their importance in the society despite of their medical condition (Bramham et al., 2009). Also, the cost-effectiveness of the CBT further affirms its applicability to the majority of adult ADHD patients in the world today (Bramham et al., 2009). In addition to the undeniable importance of CBT, this article is also believed to belong in the class of scholarly articles because it was able to manifest credibility of the resources, empirical method of data collection, unbiased method of data analysis, and reference to other peer-reviewed articles. The availability of these properties supports the scholarly nature of the paper.  

B. Group therapy for woman sexually abused as children mental health before and after group therapy.

This study made use of 45 females who were sexually abused during their childhood and were tested according to the effectiveness of the traumatic group therapies to which they were exposed two for about two years (Lundqvist et al., 2006). Pretest and posttest analysis were employed in the investigation because data of the patient properties that were collected prior to the study were compared to the data of the same patients after the study (Lundqvist et al., 2006). Intervention methods were characterized of the administration of questionnaires, employment of emotional empowering talks, and exposure of the patients to activities that will encourage them to let go of the bad memories and aspire for a better and brighter future (Lundqvist et al., 2006). The parameters which the researchers wish to investigate are composed of the determinants of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and sense of coherence (SOC) (Lundqvist et al., 2006). After the experimental procedure, it was discovered that the determinants of post-traumatic stress disorders among the participants were significantly reduced after their exposure to the traumatic group therapies (Lundqvist et al., 2006). However, minimal changes were achieved on the sense of coherence aspect of the patients after their exposure to the treatments (Lundqvist et al., 2006). Hence, it can be said that group therapies were indeed essential in reducing, if not totally eliminating, the unwanted psychological effects of childhood sexual abuse in women (Lundqvist et al., 2006). Furthermore, this article is also of scholarly nature because it was able to provide firm background to the study, empirical method of data gathering and a critical method of data analysis (Lundqvist et al., 2006).  
Chocolates and flowers You must be joking Of men and tenderness in group therapy.

Men, all throughout history, were given the notion of not being expressive of their feelings and emotions because such kind of activity will give them the title of being tender or soft (Seager  Thummer, 2009). However, information from this journal article tells us that group therapies in men is of equal importance to female group therapies, and thus, must be given sufficient academic and scientific attention (Seager  Thummer, 2009). Men of our society today tend to manifest anxiety, depression, and aggression and to some extent, suicidal tendencies, when exposed to problems and other life-changing events (Seager  Thummer, 2009). The authors of this article believe that these types of men must be subjected to group therapies in order to address their emotional and psychological needs and to enable them to express their suppressed emotions (Seager  Thummer, 2009). This study supports these hypotheses with the findings from a mens group that was facilitated in an NHS psychology department in a hospital environment in East London (Seager  Thummer, 2009). Results showed that the utilization of group therapy in men enabled them to transform the destructive relationships into stabilized and peaceful overall health status (Seager  Thummer, 2009).

The group therapy result is more technically termed as the splitting off of the softer emotional aspects of men which required the establishment of a reconstructed masculine identity that was able to defy the negative notions of men involvement in group therapies (Seager  Thummer, 2009). It is also worthy to emphasize that this journal article is also of scholarly nature because empirical data collection process was employed and a reputable literature search was included in the paper.

Conclusion
The primary article that was discussed in this paper focused on the effects of group therapy to adult patients with ADHD while the two supporting articles to this paper have focused on the effects of group therapies on females who were sexually abused during childhood and on the effects of these kind of therapies to males who have suffered from emotional problems, respectively. The two articles supported the theoretical framework of the primary study because they both cited the positive benefits of group therapies to psychologically compromised patients. In general, it can be inferred that group therapy is one of the most essential intervention in Psychology because it allows the restoration and subsequent improvement of the psychological patients. Also, the fact that these articles are scholarly in nature further supports the acceptability of the importance of group therapies in our society today.