The group approach to living with stress: four years on

In 1984, working as health visitors in the East Dorset Health Authority, we began to run courses to assist people with stress related conditions. The courses were based on counselling and group activity methods to encourage a positive health approach to solving the patients' problems. The initial results were very encouraging, and after completing three groups, we assessed our results which were reported in the Journal in January 1986 in a paper entitled 'the group approach to living with stress'. Requests for places in the stress groups have continued to be high, and courses are now a regular feature of the services offered at the health centre. This paper discusses the development of our stress management programmes, after a further three years experience, summarising our current methods, together with an assessment of the benefits achieved for patients. The study to determine the degree of improvement achieved, and whether this is maintained in the long term has been carried out with advice from Gerald Bennett, a clinical psychologist who also works for East Dorset Health Authority. Dr Bennett analysed the results of the study, and we are grateful to him for his considerable assistance in helping to present an objective view of our work, and in particular for the clear way in which he has written up the analysis, which has been embodied in this paper.