Depression Support Group Research Paper

Research has shown that depression is sometimes as debilitating as a serious physical illness and support groups help these patients tremendously. Participant evaluations of the focus groups expressed how they acknowledged how they were not alone in their experience and the group was extremely helpful and helped them share strategies that had helped them cope with depression (Coyne & Calarco ,1995). I recommend a support group for Griselda because she possibly could learn how to cope better with depression if she was able to talk and share openly with others with the same condition. It is sometimes best to ask for help from others that have experience with your situation.

At one point in a person life, they will participated in a group whether it is part of a specific committee, therapy, or social group. In recent years, there has been a rise in counseling within a group forum veering from the tradition individual counseling. Therapists, physiologist, and counselors believe that form of counseling is beneficial to both counselor and client. This allows the counselor to help several clients at once rather than one at a time decreasing their strenuous workload and demanding work hours. This form of counseling integrate individual that share similar issues, struggles, and experiences into one forum. This not only allows the clients to learn from the therapist but from their fellow group members. The group experience

The power of support groups, especially when peer run can have a sign cant impact on the individual. It is vital to realize that “Compared to recent group members, longstanding group members used less medication and treatment services, had higher levels of well-being and less neurotic distress” (Solomon, 2009). Many of them also became leaders of the groups. Many times while I have personally sat in on our Hope and Recovery Group (Peer Lead), I have seen a massive shift in many of the people in our group. The socialization of each individual is profound! Many of the group members never said a word for months and now they are vibrant, full of zeal and vivaciousness. An interesting point that is brought up by Ley is the statement that “People

Most of the time, they do group counseling which includes ten to twelve, but they also do some individual and family. For the group counseling, it always takes about three hours each time, and the program is thirty-five days’ long. After the program, the following care of clients will be continued for another year.

According to Granholm (2016) typical cognitive behavioral program will consist of 6-18 s face to face sessions between the patient and therapist, that will last around an hour each with a gap of 1 to 3 weeks between sessions. After the initial program there will needed to be

2. Then we have psychotherapy or counseling, where you talk with a psychologist or psychiatrist about your problems. Usually you meet on an outpatient basis every week, however severe depression sometimes causes hospitalization where you have counseling sessions daily and also group peer sessions. My depression affected my daily task at work so I was mandated by my employer to attend counseling or I could choose to be fired. It’s difficult at first to open up about things but it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I felt a relief that someone understood my thought process and could give me suggestions and skills to use every day to help cope with the depression.

It is important for substance use disorders counselor to know what happens in support group because a member from the group might need additional support and the counselor can referral the member to individual therapy. According to SAMHSA “Counseling can be provided at the individual or group level. Individual counseling often focuses on reducing or stopping substance use, skill building, adherence to a recovery plan, and social, family, and professional/educational outcomes. Group counseling is often used in addition to individual counseling to provide social reinforcement for pursuit of recovery.” Therefore it is important to know what happens in support group to see if the client fits well in group or individual therapy. It is also important

Support Group maybe to advance for client or not the right fit: I have noticed that some support groups are run like a family reunion, everybody knows everybody, accept the newcomer. I know that the most important person in the group is supposed to be the newcomer but that is not always the case. I have witness the regulars dominating the session while other group member just sit back because they know that this is what this person does on a regular basics, leaving little time for the newcomer to fit in. I’ve learned that the counselor/clinician must consider the best fit when referring a client, especially a newcomer who does not know what to expect from a support

Patients live and receive treatment in the same supervised facility, generally for about 28 days before returning to their homes or transferring to a step-down program.

Group therapy is an important method that is commonly used by psychiatric professionals in the treatment of many types of mental illnesses. They consist of three or more people and are targeted at promoting psychological development and change. There are three different types of groups. The task group works by using tasks, such as activities and techniques, designed to help clients work toward desired goals. In addition, midrange groups work by allowing clients to share their thoughts and feelings with others who have learned to cope with similar problems over a longer period of time. Lastly, process groups work by allowing clients to work on their communicating patterns, skills and methods (Fortinash & Holoday Worrett, 2008).

Depression is typically treated with the help of professional counseling. It can also be treated by prescribed medicine from a psychiatrist. People that have depression can also be treated as an outpatient or in some cases they can hospitalized.

Group counseling not only allows for members to learn from their therapist, it also allows for them to learn from personal experiences of other members and to gain insights and ideas on the issues they are confronting. Group counseling also helps in improving social skills among the members as they are able to interact freely in and out of the group. This way members can be more confident and open to interactions during the sessions. Group therapy influences growth and change to those involved. Also, it increases their self-awareness and enables them to gain sustenance from each other. Group counseling is also favorable to the therapist as they are able to gain faster and more efficient results for their members by counseling them simultaneously rather than one at a time. Jacobs, Mason, Harvill and Schimmel (2012) describe group counseling

& Cain, V. (2004). Group Therapy for Depressed Elderly Women, International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 54:3,

A Family support group. Support groups for family members who have a child or a love one that is experiencing a mental health issue

It has primarily been utilized as a short-term (approximately 16 week) therapy, but has also been modified for use as a maintenance therapy for patients with recurrent depression. (Interpersonal psychotherapy, 2015)