Quick Guide for Clinicians - SAMHSA Store - Substance Abuse and ...

30 Substance Abuse Treatment: Group Therapy• An ongoing group, in which new members canfill vacancies in a group that continues over along period of timeIn time-limited groups with fixed membership,learning in the group builds on what has happenedin prior meetings, so members need to bein the group from its start.In ongoing groups with fixed membership, the sizeof the group is set and new members enter onlywhen there is a vacancy.Revolving Membership GroupsNew members enter a revolving membershipgroup when they become ready for the service itprovides. Revolving membership groups are frequentlyfound in inpatient treatment programs.The two variations of revolving membershipgroups are• A time-limited group, which members generallyjoin for a set number of sessions• An ongoing group, which clients join until theyaccomplish their goalsRevolving membership groups can be larger thanfixed membership groups. They are generally morestructured and require more active leadership.In time-limited groups, each member is generallyexpected to attend a certain number of sessions