Whiting & Birch (E-Journals)
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Clinical Supervision for mental health professionals
Get PDFThis article acknowledges an enduring debate about the nature of evidence and provides a context for the selective review of a literature on the outcomes of Clinical Supervision, a structured arrangement to support staff, which has been widely introduced into health service systems across the world. The literature revealed that many of the claims for the positive effects of CS have remained unsubstantiated. A contemporary pragmatic randomised controlled trial, summarised here, tested the relationships between Clinical Supervision, quality of care and patient outcomes, in mental health settings in Queensland, Australia. It confirmed that beneficial and sustainable CS outcomes accrued for Supervisors and Supervisees, as measured by a suite of research methods and instruments including The Manchester Clinical Supervision Scale©, and for patients in one private sector mental health facility. However, the effect Clinical Supervision had on nominated outcomes still remained difficult to demonstrate across a broad front. Plausible explanations are offered for this and a new framework for future outcomes-related research studies is suggested, in the continuing attempt to strengthen an empirical evidence base for Clinical Supervision
Social Inclusion
Get PDFIn the context of mental health services, social inclusion is being promoted as a top priority, integral to recovery and good practice. What is less clear in the literature is what the process means for clinicians and service users. In this article we make the process more explicit by describing, from both a service user and clinical perspective, what social inclusion means and how it can be facilitated effectively. We go on to explore and describe the process of facilitating and measuring social inclusion as a healthcare intervention, and how the use of person centred practice and evaluation, supports people to achieve personal goals, participate in meaningful community based activity and improve their overall quality of life. We conclude by suggesting that social inclusion interventions should be the core business of mental health services and a top priority
Interpersonal group therapy on acute inpatient wards
Get PDFThe present paper describes the therapeutic application of Yalom’s interpersonal model to inpatient groups. The basic characteristics of the model are outlined, followed by goal formulation. A good ward group engages patients, reduces their sense of isolation, helps deal with anxiety caused by hospitalisation and provides the experience of ‘universality’ and of being helpful to others. Structured group tasks are utilised to facilitate disclosure, acceptance, feedback and personal change. Finally, a case study is described on the use of the Yalom groupwork method on an acute inpatient ward. While these groups have been found to be very helpful by patients, further work is needed on their evaluation
Student perspectives on groupwork
Get PDFThe educational system has a crucial role in developing groupwork skills in children and young people which will, in time, assist in the broader use of groupwork within society. Many educational establishments have for some years routinely employed groupwork pedagogy yet there has been limited research on how students actually perceive groupwork. This paper reports on student attitudes toward groupwork (n=248) within the context of a school improvement initiative. Staff from three schools met to reflect on their own practice of classroom groupwork. A questionnaire was subsequently developed and administered to elicit the general attitude of the students towards groupwork as well as their views on competition, interdependence, accountability, learning outcomes, group composition, teacher involvement, citizenship, and learning styles. Overwhelming support for groupwork was found within the cohort. Groupwork is viewed as enjoyable, preferable to individual work, a teaching strategy that can be engaged with, beneficial to learning, an aid to concentration during learning, helpful for memorising learning objectives and beneficial for life post-school. The paper discusses emerging themes and implications for the future
Participants’ perceptions of groupwork in the management of cancer symptoms in older people
Get PDFThis paper explores groupwork within rehabilitative palliative care on three distressing cancer symptoms: pain, dyspnoea and fatigue. This was achieved through qualitative methodology using a phenomenological orientated psychological approach in a cohort with a median age of 66 years. Groupwork, which included: social, exercise and divertional therapy groups were seen as important components within rehabilitative palliative care. Through semi-structured interviews the participants’ perceptions of their symptoms, beliefs and attitudes towards their groupwork within rehabilitative palliative care were explored. The relevance and benefits of the groupwork were then identified using quality of life markers established during data analysis. The main factors uncovered and shown to contribute to the groupwork were: environmental factors, mobilisation and normalisation. However more research is required to comprehend how different forms of groupwork can help reduce pain, dyspnoea and fatigue in older people with cancer
Social efficacy in the reintegration of the self
Get PDFFreud discounted that persons living with schizophrenia could benefit from psychoanalysis because they were incapable of attaining insight. Departing from classical Freudian psychodynamic theory, Heinz Kohut formulated a theory of self psychology to give a prominent place to the development of the self in an interactional field. Using the interactional field, Harry Stack Sullivan applied relational theory in his work with schizophrenics. Now, drawing on Kohut’s theory and Sullivan’s pioneering work, the author retrospectively analyzes the interactional fields and processes observed in her groupwork with older adults with schizophrenia residing in long-term care. Data on psychosocial interventions for older adults with schizophrenia are lacking. This article underscores the need for addressing this gap in the research
Rhythm ‘n’ Blues Bringing poetry into groupwork
Get PDFWhat has reading and writing poetry to offer groupwork? Groups are set up for many different purposes, yet there are, perhaps, some commonalities, the aims to develop communication skills and confidence; to encourage empathy; and to promote self-awareness and a degree of mental well-being. What role could poetry play in any of this
Ingroup attraction, coordination and individualism as predictors of student task group performance
Get PDFThe impact of coordination, ingroup attraction, collectivism and individualism on group performance was investigated in educational settings. Fourteen groups of British students (N=52) undertook a group task whose marks contributed to their final degree results. Each group had a team captain who kept a group log. Regression analysis found that coordination and individualism were significant predictors of group performance, accounting for 25.7% of the variance. The results imply that individualism in student task groups should involve task-division, giving individual members unique responsibilities, that coordination should be monitored through group logs and that group leaders should have a facilitative role
A retrospective records audit of bereaved carers’ groups
Get PDFResearch on the effectiveness of groupwork for bereaved people in reducing symptoms of grief, is mixed, but many bereavement services in the UK offer support groups as part of their service. Information about the running and content of groups is mainly based on practitioners’ accounts of their experiences. An evaluation of groups organised in a large hospice and associated carers' groups for 70 bereaved carers was undertaken by an independent retrospective review. This covered 65 records of group meetings and 22 evaluation forms completed by group members at reunions. The outcomes of this study contribute further qualitative information about the themes discussed by group members and arrangements for running such groups. Groupwork focused on the death as a shared difficult experience in their lives. 34 discussion themes in the groups were identified from the records, the most frequently discussed themes were family life, stories of the dying process and loss and loneliness. Facilitators’ assessments of the dominant mood in groups were analysed. Sadness was predominant. The group function in most groups was supportive. Members’ evaluations were mostly favourable. They valued meeting others and experiencing shared feelings
Exploring exclusion
Get PDFListening to the voices of exclusion can heighten our awareness of the crucial nature of equity in any organization. This paper describes qualitative focus group research that utilized social group work skills and techniques to deepen the understanding of diversity and human rights in a hospital workplace, and helped lead to change in its culture. Groupwork skills and activities that encouraged participants to share their authentic stories will be illustrated. In addition, the paper will outline the background to the research, summarize the outcomes, and document the process in which the group research itself became a social action intervention in the organization