Patient experiences with group behavioural activation in a partial hospital program

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Mental Health Treatment

Background:

• Behavioral Activation (BA) is an established depression treatment, typically individual.
• Patient experience in group BA, common in acute care, is less understood.
• This study focuses on group-delivered Brief Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression (BATD).

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine patient experience with group-delivered BATD in acute psychiatric care.
• To identify helpful and unhelpful aspects of the group BATD intervention.
• To assess the acceptability of group BATD for intensive treatment.

Main Methods:

• Thematic analysis of patient feedback surveys from a partial hospital program.
• Surveys assessed learning, preferences, and improvement suggestions for BATD groups.
• Independent coding and collaborative theme development by three researchers.

Main Results:

• Helpful themes included value-driven activities, motivation, goal setting, scheduling, cognitive model, and self-monitoring.
• Effective learning methods were the group format, experiential exercises, and worksheets.
• Unhelpful aspects noted were the focus on depression and mood-based activity listing; feedback on repetition and lecture/participation balance was mixed.

Conclusions:

• Group-delivered BATD generally yielded a positive patient experience.
• The intervention is acceptable as part of short-term, intensive psychiatric treatment.
• Results support the integration of group BATD in acute care settings.