Group environment and group interaction in psychiatric assessment meetings

This study examines two aspects of psychiatric assessment meetings: staff perceptions of group social climate, and staff verbal interaction. An Experimental group using a novel format was compared with two groups using a Traditional format. Group environment was measured by the Group Environment Scale (GES). Staff verbal interaction was rated both in terms of discussion content and distribution of discussion time among the categories of Chair, Keyworker, and Others. Changes in group environment were found on four out of ten GES subscales: in the Experimental meetings Expressiveness and Independence both increased, while Leader Control, and Anger & Aggression decreased. Content of discussion remained largely unchanged, but there was a marked shift in the distribution of discussion time towards Keyworkers and away from the Chair.