Book Review: Staff Support Groups in the Helping Professions: Principles, Practice and Pitfalls

Abstract

With work-related stress, low staff morale and "burnout" being common occupational hazards of the health service, promoting and maintaining the health and well-being of the workforce should be the business of anyone working in this field (either clinically or otherwise), both for ourselves and the quality of care provided to our clients. The Department of Health is increasingly putting the support of staff in health professions on their agenda, but whilst the importance of regular supervision is well documented, structures to ensure opportunities for reflective practice and support seem to be less well established. Phil Hartley and David Kennard propose that staff support groups can contribute to the wellbeing and functioning of teams and individuals in a way that is different from clinical supervision. As they point out, the concept of "institutional defences against anxiety" proposed by Menzies (1959, cited by Hartley and Kennard, p. 23) is well known, and articles about support groups for nurses, psychiatrists and medical students have surfaced in medical and nursing journals over the past 30 years. However, until now the topic of staff support groups has not been given the attention and detail that can be provided by a dedicated book. Using Hawkins and Shohet's Supervision in the Helping Professions (2000) as inspiration, Hartley and Kennard state that this book is designed to be a practical guide to the effective management and facilitation of staff support groups, as well as to the potential pitfalls. However, I feel they also address some of the broader issues and ambivalence surrounding the idea of staff support, with chapters such as "Why it can be difficult to ask for support, especially if you work in a caring profession" (Chapter 2). The book is divided into two sections. Part I, written by the editors, provides a practical overview to setting up and facilitating staff support groups. From defining what constitutes a support group, outlining the role of the facilitator, to a chapter dedicated to ending a support group, this section seems to cover all the basics. The accessible format is illustrated by self explanatory headings such as "Ten keys to a successful staff support group" (Chapter 3), "Some common problems and ways of responding to them" (Chapter 6), and "An outline of research findings and suggestions for evaluations" (Chapter 8). As a result, this book can be easily used by anyone from busy clinicians attempting to facilitate such groups, inexperienced students wondering whether to attend, managers assessing whether to commission a group and potential researchers in this field. Part II consists of six chapters written by a range of professionals well practised in staff group facilitation, each describing a clinical experience across different contexts, ranging from acute inpatient mental health, to helping teachers deal with self harm amongst school pupils. Addressing topics such as authority and control, facilitating from inside or outside teams, and managing boundaries, these chapters pro...