Group meeting in psychiatric inpatient setting: Psychological intervention and outcome difference across gender

Abstract

Being part of a group is likely to increase the affiliation of the members, serving as a source of support in times of crises and distress. Group meetings are part of the therapeutic action provided to a group of individuals, together in their inpatient setup. This enables in developing a rapport with the unit as a whole and resolve any misunderstanding or discrepant information, as far as possible. The present study aims to explore the efficacy of group meetings in a psychiatric inpatient setting in males and females in terms of the process and outcome. In the present study, the total sample consisted of twenty inpatients at a mental health-care unit, of which 9 were females and 11 were males. These two groups consisted of individuals with mixed diagnosis. Group meetings along with individual therapy for each of the patients were conducted separately for both the groups over a span of 15 sessions. Results of the study showed that the group meeting was found to be effective as was reflected in terms of the outcome measures. Further, sex-related differences were found to be present across several measures. Thus, the present study further highlights the importance of group meetings as an adjunct to ongoing intervention in psychiatric inpatient wards and also warrants a customization in the plan and approach for males and females separately.