title: Best practices: increased attendance in inpatient group psychotherapy improves patient outcomes.
abstract: This column describes an initiative that promoted increased attendance in group psychotherapy and its effect on patient outcomes. Information on patient- and staff-rated outcomes, readmission rates, and patient satisfaction was gathered for 2,782 inpatients in a private psychiatric facility in Australia. On average, after the initiative was implemented, patients went from attending one session per day to two sessions. Inpatients admitted after implementation had better patient- and staff-rated outcomes and lower rates of readmission within one month of discharge. However, patients' treatment satisfaction ratings declined. These findings indicate that increasing attendance in group psychotherapy can be a useful adjunct to hospital treatment.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia. andrew@psy.uwa.edu.au
authors.forename: Andrew C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Page
authors.forename: Geoffrey R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Hooke