Feasibility and Acceptability of the We See You, Sis Sister Circle for Black Women With Depression Symptoms

Objective

To test the feasibility and acceptability of We See You, Sis, a therapeutically grounded virtual sister circle intervention for Black women with depression symptoms.

Design

A two-group quasi-experimental design.

Setting

Virtual on the Zoom version 5.13 platform.

Participants

Black women who were at least 40 years of age, with current depression symptoms, who had reliable access to Zoom (N = 30).

Method

We See You, Sis is a virtual sister circle intervention that is therapeutically grounded in the core processes of Pulling Out of Fire, a culturally adapted version of acceptance and commitment therapy. Groups 1 and 2 received the 6-week intervention during Weeks 1 through 6 and 7 through 12, respectively. The main outcomes were feasibility (recruitment, retention, and completion) and acceptability. The theoretical framework of acceptability informed the focus group guide used to assess acceptability. We used thematic analysis to code the qualitative data and to identify salient themes across participants’ narratives.

Results

Recruitment (70%), retention (83.3%), and completion (82%) rates demonstrated that the intervention was feasible. Participants perceived the intervention to be acceptable, especially because it fit with their personal and collective values. We generated two overarching themes: Becoming More Whole and Having a Trusted Space to Address Depression Symptoms and Related Experiences, which represented the interconnected processes of personal growth and collective healing that occurred throughout the intervention.

Conclusion

The findings provide evidence to support the delivery of peer-delivered mental health interventions for middle-age and older Black women.