Effectiveness of Focus Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Ameliorating Risk of Depression in Mental Health Nurses.

Abstract

Mental health nurses care for patients with mental health and addiction problems. The particular nature of their job makes them prone to increased risk of depression. Timely use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in a focus group of nurses yields significant results when it comes to minimizing vulnerability to depression risk. Therefore, a structured cognitive behavioral therapy program was implemented for four weeks in a focus group of mental health male nurses who work in a specialized addiction and mental health care facility. A general survey was administered at baseline in addition to the depression scale. Depression risk was reassessed at the end of the program. Then, the risk assessment was repeated after one month to test for the reliability of the outcomes. The study adopted a one-group repeated measure design where a repeated measure ANOVA was used to examine the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy on depression risk. The study revealed that the depression level differed significantly between time points. Post hoc analysis with a Bonferroni adjustment showed that depression level was significantly decreased from pre-intervention to first post-intervention, and from pre-intervention to second post-intervention. One alarming red flag was the fact that 4 out of the 12 participants thought of committing suicide, at least once, in the past six months; thus, drawing attention, extra care, and vigilance. So, health authorities must maintain psychological surveillance of mental health nurses and offer them timely rehabilitation, help, and support. A promising measure in this domain is focus group cognitive behavioral therapy.