Evaluation of Therapeutic Factors in Group Psychotherapy for ‘Non-Sensical’ Shop-Lifters: A Preliminary Report

There is a growing emphasis upon psychiatric involvement in management of ‘non-sensical’ shop-lifters, those who steal items they neither want nor need However there is very little description of, or research into, psychological treatment approaches for this group of clients. We report a preliminary study of the process of therapy in two out-patient psychotherapy groups for female ‘nonsensical’ shop-lifters. Therapeutic factors in the group psychotherapy were evaluated using the method of Bloch et al. (1979) to assess the most important event in therapy. Results from nine subjects indicate that universality (realizing that one's problems are not unique) was rated as the most important aspect of therapy, with self-understanding the second most important. The implications of these findings for future provision and facilitation of therapy for this group of clients are discussed.