Does a weekly ward-based interpersonal therapy group reduce psychological distress for women in an acute psychiatric inpatient hospital? A service evaluation

Background

There is a limited amount of research assessing the effectiveness of group therapy on acute inpatient psychiatric wards, and mixed results from research assessing inpatient psychological therapies in general. Previous studies highlight challenges for conducting research on psychiatric inpatient hospitals, such as short admissions, high patient turnover, engagement challenges, acuteness of illness, overmedication and feelings of stigma and disempowerment.

Aims

This service evaluation aims to assess whether weekly ward-based interpersonal group therapy reduces short-term psychological distress for women on an acute psychiatric inpatient ward in inner-city London (Tower Hamlets), UK.

Methods

This service evaluation compared psychological distress, as measured by the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation 10 (CORE-10), pre- and post-intervention for women attending a weekly ward-based interpersonal therapy group between February 2023 and August 2023.

Results

There were 46 participants included in the analysis. There was an 11.3% decrease in the mean CORE-10 score post-intervention. Four (9%) patients exhibited significant and reliable change (i.e. short-term psychological distress reduced to a ‘healthy’ level). A further three (7%) patients exhibited no significant change. Short-term psychological distress did not significantly deteriorate for any patients who attended the ward-based interpersonal therapy group.

Conclusion

It is feasible to collect pre- and post-outcome data to assess psychological distress following a weekly ward-based interpersonal therapy group over a 6-month period, which meet acceptable a priori sample size calculations. The group appears to have an immediate positive impact for the majority (95%) of patients where short-term psychological distress reduced or stayed the same; however, this was only significant for 16% of patients. It would be important to collect qualitative data, ideally using multiple methods or data sources for triangulation, in order to corroborate and strengthen the current findings. Practitioners cannot rely solely on the results of this study to demonstrate effectiveness of psychotherapeutic group interventions in acute inpatient settings.