Inpatient groups: Working with staff, patients and the whole community

Abstract

In this paper the author shares with the reader his reflections on running inpatient groups. He provides two detailed case studies of his groupwork. The first, took place in a traditional asylum in the early 1980s. The second was a more contemporary group, which took place in a hospital secure unit. Both case studies illustrate the importance of gaining the support of the ward team, including doctors and nurses, in establishing and maintaining a groupwork culture. He illustrates how groupwork can help individuals with serious mental disorders through exploration, reflection and acceptance. He ends by making a plea for using groupwork to cope with wider societal changes. Unlike the other papers in this series, this account has more of a narrative feel, and as such, it is told in the first person.