Lived experiences of psychiatric patients with mood disorders who attended group therapy facilitated by professional psychiatric nurses

• Published in: Curationis (Pretoria) Vol. 43; no. 1; pp. 1 - 9
• Main Authors: Visagie, Hester M.P., Poggenpoel, Marie, Myburgh, Chris
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pretoria AOSIS 2020; African Online Scientific Information Systems (Pty) Ltd t/a AOSIS; AOSIS (Pty) Ltd; Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA)
• Subjects: acute inpatient unit; Biology; Care and treatment; Evidence-based medicine; Group counseling; Group therapy; Health aspects; Health Care Sciences & Services; Health Policy & Services; lived experiences; Mental disorders; Mood disorders; Nurses; Nursing; Nursing care; Original Research; Patient satisfaction; psychiatric nurses; Psychiatric patients; Psychiatric-mental health nursing; Social aspects; stabilised acute psychiatric patients; South Africa; lived experiences; psychiatric nurses; acute inpatient unit; group therapy; stabilised acute psychiatric patients
• ISSN: 0379-8577; 2223-6279; 2223-6279
• DOI: 10.4102/curationis.v43i1.2114

Background: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 25% of people worldwide will develop mental health disorders during their lifetime. Patients admitted to acute inpatient units for mood disorders experience emotional distress. Group therapy has the potential to foster the therapeutic change through specific therapeutic mechanisms. Psychiatric nurses working in inpatient units are in a unique position to offer group therapy. Objectives: Explore and describe stabilised acute psychiatric patients with mood disorders' lived experiences of group therapy facilitated by psychiatric nurses. Make specific recommendations for psychiatric nurses to facilitate constructive group therapy for stabilised acute psychiatric patients with mood disorders in an inpatient unit. Method: A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design was used in the study. A purposive sample of all patients with mood disorders older than 18 years admitted to inpatient units who participated in group therapy was made. Data were collected through conducting phenomenological interviews, observation and field notes. Interviews focussed on the following open question: 'How did you experience group therapy facilitated by the psychiatric nurses?' An independent coder analysed the data by using thematic coding. Measures to ensure trustworthiness were applied. The following four ethical principles were adhered to: autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence and justice. Results: Three themes emerged from this study. Theme 1 entailed the psychological experiences of patients attending group therapy. Theme 2 highlighted the interpersonal experiences of patients. Theme 3 evolved around patients' experiences outside group therapy. Patients initially experienced attending group therapy as anxiety provoking. However, negative psychological experiences soon transformed into positive psychological experiences. Conclusion: The findings of this study were used to make specific recommendations to facilitate constructive group therapy for patients with mood disorders.