Solution-Focused Group Therapy for Patients on Long-Term Sick Leave

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether solution-focused group therapy has an effect on the psychological health and return-to-work rates of people on long-term sick leave. The Swedish Health Insurance program in Värmland chose the sample. A total of 30 individuals who had been on sick leave between 1 and 5 months participated. Participants were randomized to two conditions after the pretest measures were completed. The two conditions were solution-focused group therapy or a waiting list control group. The solution-focused groups met for eight 3-hour sessions. The outcome measures included both return-to-work status and psychological measures, specifically the Outcome Questionnaire-45.2 (OQ-45.2), Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), Pain Beliefs and Perception Inventory (Williams & Thorn, 1989), and Visual Analogue Scales (VAS). The study found that the treatment group returned to work at a significantly higher rate than the control group, worked more days, and that their psychological health had improved at the end of treatment. The difference between the groups regarding psychological health continued, and the difference in work status increased at a follow-up assessment 3 months after completion of treatment. These findings suggest that solution-focused group therapy may be useful in helping patients on sick leave to return to work. Continued research is necessary, of course, including replication of the study by research teams.