Lived experiences of psychiatric patients with mood disorders who attended group therapy facilitated by professional psychiatric nurses.
Hester M P Visagie, Marie Poggenpoel, Chris Myburgh
PMID 32633990WHAT IT FOUND
Eight stabilised inpatients with mood disorders described nurse-facilitated group therapy as initially anxiety provoking, then safer as trust grew.
They valued feeling accepted, not alone, and able to share. Compassion from nurses and ward interactions shaped their experience.
Key findings
01Entering group therapy was anxiety provoking, and participants were reluctant to express feelings because they feared being judged and labelled.
02As group cohesion developed, participants felt safe, no longer alone, and able to trust the psychiatric nurses and other members.
03Some participants experienced nurses as lacking compassion, while the ward environment outside group sessions was valued as a safety net.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study interviewed eight stabilised patients from an acute admission unit in a public psychiatric hospital in South Africa, so these experiences may not apply to other patients or services. Participants had to have an adequate grasp of English, and some unwilling patients, especially those struggling with anxiety, were not included. Admissions and discharges happened at different times, so patients attended group sessions with different nurses or at different times, which may have shaped their experiences. The audio recording of interviews appeared to aggravate some participants' anxiety. The study explored lived experience and did not compare group therapy with usual care or measure clinical outcomes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that nurse-facilitated group therapy improves mood disorder symptoms. The study describes the experiences of eight stabilised inpatients and did not test the therapy against a control group or measure clinical outcomes.