Elien Neimeijer

78 The participants consider it the task of the sociotherapist to interpret their symptoms correctly in order to unravel the underlying function of the behaviour and to intervene on it. Therefore, the sociotherapist must get to know them well as a person and build and maintain a relationship of trust. For this, the sociotherapist, as James describes, must be present in the group, take the initiative for (normal) contact, not to judge, be patient and show interest in getting to know the person. Only when the person trusts the sociothera- pist can he, through questions and listening, gain insight into the coping and underlying problems of the person. 3. Uniformity: Treat everyone the same, but treat me differently. Y ou have not chosen the ones you are in a group with (...) If someone is angry, that also triggers you. (...) I suffer from that. (…) when I have been on leave and come back to the group, it feels good (Laura). L ook, you’re staying here with eight people. If you say something wrong, it can get nas- ty, that makes me nervous (...) You shouldn’t interfere with other clients and focus on yourself (...) ... People don’t just use [drugs] without reason, talking about it [in group therapy] helps” (Rachel). I t is positive that we are one group and that we trust each other… when a new client comes, you first have to see whether you can trust them (Oliver). The participants gave many examples that showed an ambivalent attitude about living in a treatment group. Participants emphasised that living with people who are different from themselves and often show complex, dangerous and unpredictable behaviour in a secure setting that they cannot leave, is tiring and evokes negative emotions and be- haviour as they must continuously adapt to other residents and be alert for potentially dangerous situations. As a result, participants are often anxious or tensed, especially, like indicated by Oliver, when a new resident joins the group. Finally, the participants refer to negative consequences (e.g. restrictions in their freedom of movement) as a result of the problem behaviour of another person. In general, most participants do not prefer to live in a group. However, all participants described that they belong to the group and/or feel at home as the group members offer them sociability and support. Participants want to