Therapeutic factors that promote recovery in high-risk adolescents intensive group psychotherapeutic MBT programme

Table 2 Definition and frequency of therapeutic factors (number and percentage of participants who named the relevant factor; N = 70)

Therapeutic factor	Definition	Prevalence
Therapeutic factor	Definition	n	%
1. Altruism	Members help one another through giving of themselves to others	26	37.1
2. Cohesion	The sense of belonging to the group and being understood and accepted	68	97.1
3. Universality	The sense of not being the only one to feel this way	1	1.4
4. Interpersonal learning input	Refers to members learning how they come across to others	36	51.4
5. Interpersonal learning output	Refers to members learning how to relate to others	66	94.3
6. Guidance	Group members receiving helpful, accurate information and therapeutic interventions	62	88.6
7. Catharsis	The expression of feelings, both positive and negative	39	55.7
8. Identification	Members imitate successful behaviours modelled by other members or the treatment staff	66	94.3
9. Family re-enactment	Frees group members from familial roles	2	2.9
10. Self-understanding	Refers to members discovering and accepting previously unknown or unacceptable parts of themselves	13	18.6
11. Instilling hope	Refers to sense that change is possible	1	1.4
12. Existential factors	Members learn to take responsibility for the way they live their lives	21	30.0
13 Self-esteem	A sense of worth within the group and of being self-confident	19	27.1
14. Turning point	Member pointing out a crucial moment of change in the group therapy	7	10.0
15. Resilience	The belief that one can cope with stressful life events	11	15.7
16. Epistemic trust	Learning to trust and learn from other people	9	12.9