63rd Annual Conference

12:00 noon-1:00 P.M.

Session 208

Assessment of Ego Development in Long Term Psychotherapy Groups for Men

Presenter:        

Elliot M. Geller, LCSW, CGP, Private Practice, Portland, Oregon

The periodic assessment of ego development offers useful information in monitoring growth for men in group psychotherapy. Jane Loevinger's sentence completion test provides data to identify stages in ego development.  Stages in ego development offer a framework to organize clinical judgment in understanding interpersonal relations, supporting progress, and identifying therapeutic interventions.

Learning Objectives:

The attendee will be able to:

1. Overview and summarize Loevinger's eight stages of ego development.

2. Utilize Loevinger's sentence completion test to assess the ego development of group members.

3. Identify various levels of ego functioning among group members to support therapeutic interventions and monitor progress.

Course References:

1. Gold, L., Kerber, K., Silk, K., Western, D. (1990).  Ego Development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

2. Object Relations and Social Cognition in Borderlines, Major Depressives, and Normals: A Thematic Aperception Test Analysis Psychological Assessment, A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2(4). 335-364.

3. Loevinger, J., Hy, L. (1996). Measuring Ego Development, (2^nd Ed.).

Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, Publishers.