Proposes that therapeutic efficacy of heterogeneous groups is additionally enhanced by the similarity of interpersonal dynamics and flawed communication patterns common among dysfunction families of all types. Focusing on the roles of the lost child and the mascot, presents case studies of an adult child of alcoholics and the adult child of a…

Based on the view that attention to cultural/sex-role norms is essential in working with the male alcoholic, this article discusses the rationale for an all-male setting for group therapy and the relation between sex-role behavior and alcoholism in men. It then describes the introduction of a gender-based men's group to meet the special needs of…