Coordinating support groups for wellbeing

The increasing interest in supporting human psychological wellbeing in the workplace should be applauded. Within the animal health industry, especially in veterinary and welfare sectors, the need to support staff has perhaps never been more salient. One support method that can be appealing for organisations is to offer interventions that are group based. Groups can be viewed as cost effective by delivering help to a number of people at one time; however, they are often wrongly perceived as a quick and cheap option. Moreover, groups are commonly believed to be pleasant places which, by their very nature, will be social, kind and healing – but this can be a misplaced belief. Groups may provide few or none of the intended outcomes, or even cause more harm than good. Just as a medication can have unwanted and sometimes harmful side effects, so too can psychological and social interventions. Leaning on our experience of running formal groups in a number of different ways, in this article we aim to share thinking about what is needed to run groups to support staff wellbeing. We also cover factors to consider before embarking on this type of intervention to ensure that groups help staff rather than harm them.