Stresses and coping in ICU nursing: why support groups fail

A successful nurse support group was contrasted with two unsuccessful support groups. The authors concluded that support groups work best if they are initiated in response to a felt need by the nurses, if the nurses have experienced the group leader as helpful in the past, if the group is highly structured and does not allow early discharge of intense negative feelings, and if the group's problems are primarily interpersonal and can be dealt with in the group and not primarily environmental or administrative problems such as noise, overcrowding, or understaffing.