It's the Activity that Counts: What Clients Value in Psycho-Educational Groups

Abstract

Occupational therapists offering mental health groups should consider a number of factors. These include the importance of transitioning clients from activity groups to psycho-educational groups, as well as the value clients place in determining their readiness to attend a group and having a supportive milieu with limits to emotional disclosure.

Time use among individuals with persistent mental illness: Identifying risk factors for imbalance in daily activities

“…These symptoms have to be taken into account when helping these individuals in their daily life. Engagement in therapeutic and meaningful activities has been suggested to counteract these general symptoms [52][53][54], and motivating these individuals to further engagement in activities in their daily life might lead to fewer symptoms and to perceptions of better health and wellbeing. …”

Inpatient group facilitation guide: staff development and processing, connecting body and brain

“…Important to note, a person's readiness for group may be fluid and needs to be reassessed by staff throughout the day depending on the patient's actions, state of mind and willingness to contribute (Cowls & Hale, 2005;Marcovitz & Smith, 1983;Paley, 2013). Though the attending psychiatrist will initially create an inpatient's treatment plan, determining appropriate groups for participation, an interdisciplinary staff team will communicate and share information throughout the day and use their clinical judgement to collaboratively and continually construct the best possible therapeutic environment for all patients (Farely, 1997;Khorasani & Campbell, 2013).…”

“…These groups tend to be open-clients choose when to participate, come and go, and have reduced structure. Smaller therapeutic groups lend themselves to increased focus, intentionality and require higher functioning patients who may be expected to arrive on time and to minimize disruption to the group if they choose to leave (Emond & Rasmussen, 2012;Parkinson, 1999;Wyatt, Yalom & Yalom, 2006;Yalom, 1983 (Cowls & Hale, 2005;Khorasani & Campbell, 2013;Parkinson, 1999).…”

“…Safety and stabilization is a prerequisite to other therapeutic collaborations including psychoeducational groups where patients develop new coping skills, or interpersonal experiential learning, or higher level processing. Therefore, since strengthening interpersonal capacity while attending to safety and stabilization techniques is necessary for optimal mental health outcomes, the goals of inpatient therapy (to improve interpersonal capacity) need to be offered in an enriched environment with selfregulated, grounded, trained facilitators, who then determine adaptable strategies and techniques (Cowls & Hale, 2005;Kottler, 2012;Ogden & Fisher, 2015;Yalom, 1983).…”

“…Along with CBT, are other interventions that work well for patients with depression, personality disorders and anxiety (Cowls, & Hale, 2005;Montgomery, 2002;Page, & Hooke, 2003;Veltro et al, 2008 that put them at ease and facilitate connecting with other group members, but they also readily rely on group leaders to limit the intensity and emotional disclosure during psychoeducational groups. Clients appreciate when difficult experiences are safely shared and discussion follows to debrief and develop coping strategies for their feelings.…”