Group Therapy as Treatment for Depressed Latino Women: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

Group therapy has been recommended as a treatment for depression among Latino women. Thus, the literature published between 1980 and 2004 was systematically reviewed to explore cultural and therapeutic factors relevant to group therapy for depressed Latino women. The specific aims were to: (1) determine the type of studies on this topic, (2) identify successful forms of group therapy for this population, (3) identify therapeutic factors to consider while dealing with this population in group therapy, and (4) explore guidelines for conducting culturally sensitive groups for this population. Cognitive behavioral group therapy is recommended, yet few experimental studies have explored culturally relevant variations of this treatment. Culturally relevant therapeutic factors were mentioned in all studies.

Stress and Depression Among Latina Women in Rural Southeastern North Carolina

“…Therefore, nurses who practice in rural settings caring for Latina women need to consider these factors when assessing for signs and symptoms of depression. Attention to the mental health needs of specific Latino/Latina subgroups is important because of varying and unique demographic characteristics, including, but not limited to, immigration status, education, and earned levels of income (Harris, Edlund, & Larson, 2005;Stacciarini, O'Keefe, & Mathews, 2007).…”

Focus Groups: Examining a Community-Based Group Intervention for Depressed Puerto Rican Women

“…Most of the identified categories from the focus group discussions were similar to themes described in the literature about the Puerto Rican or Latino culture in psychotherapeutic treatments (Stacciarini et al, 2007). Interpersonal interactions in their personal lives were frequently mentioned by focus group participants in their discussions about the interactive activities.…”

“…Although depression is a common diagnosis among Latinos, Puerto Ricans are underrepresented within Latino treatment-outcome research (Stacciarini, Okeeffe, & Matthews, 2007). Despite this paucity of research, group therapy (Acosta, 1982;Delgado & Humm-Delgado, 1984;Organista, 2000) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) have been suggested as efficacious treatments for depression in Latino individuals and groups (Organista, 2000;Organista, Muñoz, & Gonzales, 1994;Perez & Phil, 1999), including a sample of Puerto Ricans (Comas- Diaz, 1981).…”

“…The rationale for creating these types of interactive activities was based on a review of research findings (Stacciarini et al, 2007) indicating that in order to encourage and facilitate the cohesion necessary for successful group processing with Latinos, therapy sessions should incorporate cultural activities including music/artwork (Organista, Muñoz, & Gonzales, 1994). The common practice of immediately focusing on the problem in therapy can be felt as impersonal by Latino clients, particularly if it is at the expense of the social lubrication needed to build confianza, or trust (Roll, Millen, & Martinez, 1980).…”

“…The cultural concept of familism has been widely used in the literature (Hall, 2001;Organista, 2000) to refer to the strong family connections among Latinos, including Puerto Ricans. Family and family values were found in a literature review to be important themes when dealing with group therapy for depressed Latino women and should be acknowledge in the group dynamic process (Stacciarini et al, 2007).…”