ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the current status and trends of group counseling research in China by bibliometric analysis and content analysis.Method:Using methods of bibliometrics and content analysis,Chinese papers on group counseling in 1996 -2013 which were found in CNKI were analyzed in 6 aspects including litera-ture number,sources,research type,topic,quality and competence of group counselors.Results:A total number of 516 papers were found,in which 51.0% of journal articles and 49.0% of dissertations.The research methods and topics were developing from outcome and quantitative research to multiple methods and topics including process re-search,process-outcome research,qualitative research,combined research and theoretical research.The problems were that researchers were still focused on outcome research (92.6%)and quantitative research (54.5%).As to research quality,40.7% of journal articles were published on CSSCI,22.5% of the experimental studies had no control groups,among which 43.3% were not randomized or matched,and 75.5% of outcome researches had not traced long-term effects.In 65.4% of the researches,group leaders'qualifications were not described.Conclusion:The group counseling research in China is developed quite rapidly,and the research type and topic are more di-verse,but the quality of the studies needs to be improved,and the competence of group leaders needs to be exam-ined.