Group therapy initially flourished in the United States due to which factor?

• A. Freud's lectures in this country.
• B. A shortage of competent career counselors.
• C. A shortage of individual therapists during World War II.
• D. Pressure from nondirective therapists pushing encounter groups.

Answer: (C)

World War II created a dramatic mismatch between the rising need for mental health care and the shortage of individual therapists. Clinicians needed to help many patients quickly and efficiently, so group formats became a practical solution. Treating multiple people at once allowed therapists to extend limited resources, making care more accessible in veterans’ hospitals and civilian clinics. This pragmatic shift is what helped group therapy take hold in the United States. The other options don’t fit the historical pattern: Freud’s lectures didn’t drive a nationwide move to group therapy, a shortage of career counselors isn’t the trigger, and encounter groups emerged later as part of the broader human potential movement rather than wartime practice.