Cognitive Clearing Group Therapy for the Fragile Patient.

This report discusses an ego-oriented therapeutic approach developed for the fragile patient who needs to learn how to deal with the anxiety that feeds into a drug addiction problem. Through controlled thought and perception, he is helped to channel his anxiety into growth by employing the perceptual senses to redirect energy away from the need to defend, and by the interaction of the audiovisual, verbal, and kinesthetic methods which reinforce each other to "let in" environment. This therapeutic approach separates and concretely defines one's feelings from one's perceptions about what is actually occurring. Working on the concrete level aids one in clarifying, verifying, and establishing communication, and ultimately breaks down the neurotic reaction by separating feelings from fact. Once the patient has learned the concrete phase, he is helped to work on the abstract level, or feeling stage. (Author/PC)