Current Practice and Perceptions of Group Work in Occupational Therapy

Abstract

Date Presented 4/18/2015 This presentation shows the results of national survey that was used to determine occupational therapy practitioners’ current practice trends and views of group treatment, identify supports and benefits of group treatment, identify future educational needs, and provide recommendations to increase group work in practice.

Participant evaluation of an inpatient occupational therapy groups programme in brain injury rehabilitation

“…Reflective of changes in approaches to health and wellbeing (World Health Organisation, ), and occupational therapy practice more broadly (American Occupational Therapy Association, ), this groups programme focuses on activity and participation with consideration given to personal factors and environmental contexts. Furthermore, the groups reflect current evidence regarding the benefits of group interventions such as peer support and learning (Higgins et al ., ; Malec, ; Yalom & Leszcz, ).…”

“…First documented in the 1920s, Meyer () described the facilitation of craft groups in which there was little emphasis on group interactions. While group‐based interventions have changed over time, groups remain a core component of occupational therapy practice (Higgins, Schwartzberg, Bedell & Duncombe, ; Schwartzberg, Howe & Barnes, ). Schwartzberg et al .…”

“…() described the history of occupational therapy group interventions across six key periods from the project era in the 1920s and 1930s, featuring project work with little focus on group dynamics; to the socialisation era of the late 1930s which was largely based in psychiatric settings; and the group dynamics era of the 1950s which emphasised therapeutic interactions between participants. Since then groups have continued to be used widely by occupational therapists across a broad range of clinical settings (Cole, ; Higgins et al ., ; Scanlan, Argent, Ayling, Mouawad & Woodward, ) with shifts in healthcare approaches reflected in group facilitation.…”

Group therapy interventions in traumatic brain injury rehabilitation: processes, perceptions and effectiveness

“…Given the impact of TBI on participation, an understanding of the processes and strategies which enable people with TBI to participate in rehabilitation groups is necessary. Groups are widely used in clinical practice across different areas of health care and rehabilitation (Drum et al, 2011;Hammond et al, 2015;Higgins, Schwartzberg, Bedell, & Duncombe, 2015) and most comprehensive brain injury rehabilitation programmes provide group interventions as an integral part of clinical care (Malec, 2014). Rehabilitation groups not only provide an opportunity for 'real world' interactions (Bertisch et al, 2011), but can also maximise therapy intensity by increasing the number of patients that can be seen by therapists (Drum et al, 2011;Hammond et al, 2015).…”

“…Groups are commonly used for the delivery of occupational therapy services (Higgins et al, 2015;Lloyd & Williams, 2010;Scanlan et al, 2015) and as far back as the 1920s, Meyer (1922) described groups of patients in a psychiatric setting working on various arts, crafts and other handwork. Since then, the focus and process of group work has changed with a developing emphasis on group dynamics and the wider impact of social and economic environments on group interventions (Howe & Schwartzberg, 2001).…”