Best practices: increased attendance in inpatient group psychotherapy improves patient outcomes.
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.
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Andrew C
AC
School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia. andrew@psy.uwa.edu.au
Hooke
Geoffrey R
GR