With rising mental health problems but a shortage of services, group therapy is offering new hope
Even before the pandemic, it was clear that despite more resources for mental health services in New Zealand and Australia, the prevalence of mental health problems was on the rise.
- Even before the pandemic, it was clear that despite more resources for mental health services in New Zealand and Australia, the prevalence of mental health problems was on the rise.
- Mental health care in the current format is not meeting the needs of people living in the community, and there’s an ongoing shortage of mental health providers and relevant therapies.
Social factors are important
- But we wanted to examine the value of “psychosocial” care – a broader approach that meets individual needs but also considers social factors such as housing, income or relationships.
- Our review aimed to understand the value of group-based interventions, recognising the importance of social networks and relationships for recovery across all communities.
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Why group-based therapy?
Group interventions have been shown to improve mental health outcomes in both community trials and systematic reviews. A recent meta-analysis of 81 studies showed talk therapy is the best initial treatment for depression.
If psychosocial interventions were a pill, their effectiveness would be trumpeted globally. Yet Western biomedicine (mental health care that requires psychiatrists and psychologists to deliver it) continues to command the majority of resources because of hierarchies and global economic structures that privilege psychiatry and medicines. As well as being effective, there are other advantages to group-based interventions because they:
do not rely on expensive specialist providers
can be delivered in communities and therefore improve access to care
are responsive to local contexts such as groups in rural areas
improve outcomes for groups that typically experience worse health, including new migrants to New Zealand
increase engagement with mental health services
and are highly cost-effective and scalable.
- Group therapy improves mental health and social connection and is at least as effective as individual therapy.
- It can be used for a wide range of mental health problems and is more cost-effective than one-to-one individual therapy.
How group therapies work
- But we used an approach that looks for how interventions work by examining the contexts, mechanisms and outcomes.
- In this review of 42 peer-reviewed research publications, we identified five key mechanisms that groups offer to improve mental health:
They increase opportunity to be part of trusted relationships, which is a key social determinant of health. Group members described new friendships that continue after the intervention was over.
They trigger a sense of social inclusion and support, meaning people access resources and services more easily. Social inclusion is an important factor that determines mental health. Studies gave examples of how group members supported each other emotionally and with child care, agricultural and home responsibilities.
Groups can strengthen people’s ability to manage mental distress because they provide an opportunity to rehearse and use mental health skills and knowledge in a safe social space. This is key to building communication skills and self esteem.
They trigger a sense of belonging, and members can manage emotions better. This enabled behaviour changes. For example, widows in northeast India described how they were able to identify and control feelings of anger because of their sense of connection with the group.
Groups provide a sense of collective strength and can act collaboratively for their own wellbeing. Group interventions are particularly beneficial for minorities, such as non-binary and transgender people, who experience higher rates of mental distress as well as social exclusion. A group can offer social support and affirmation, which have also been identified as key mental health determinants.
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- Psychosocial group therapies do not seek to replace formal mental health care.
Kaaren Mathias consults for Burans, a non-profit community mental health initiative of Herbertpur Christian Hospital based in North India. She received a grant from UK Research and Innovation.