The effectiveness of support groups: a literature review
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-12-2017-0055 |
| Date | 09 April 2018 |
| Published date | 09 April 2018 |
| Pages | 85-93 |
| Author | Hugh Worrall,Richard Schweizer,Ellen Marks,Lin Yuan,Chris Lloyd,Rob Ramjan |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Social inclusion |
The effectiveness of support groups:
a literature review
Hugh Worrall, Richard Schweizer, Ellen Marks, Lin Yuan, Chris Lloyd and Rob Ramjan
Abstract
Purpose –Support groups are a common feature of the mental health support engaged by carers and
consumers. The purpose of this paper is to update and consolidate the knowledge and the evidence for the
effectiveness of mental health support groups.
Design/methodology/approach –This paper is based on a systematic literature review of relevant
databases around support groups for mental health. Support groups are defined as meetings of people with
similar experiences, such as those defined as carers of a person living with a mental illness or a person living
with a mental illness. These meetings aim to provide support and companionship to one another.
Findings –The results show that there is a consistent pattern of evidence, over a long period of time, which
confirms the effectiveness of mental health support groups for carers and people living with mental illness.
There is strong, scientifically rigorous evidence which shows the effectiveness of professionally facilitated,
family-led support groups, psychoeducation carers support groups, and professionally facilitated,
program-based support groups for people living with mental illness.
Research limitations/implications –This research implies the use of support groups is an important
adjunct to the support of carers and people with mental illness, including severe mental illness.
Originality/value –This research brings together a range of studies indicating the usefulness of support
groups as an adjunct to mental health therapy.
Keywords Carers, Mental illness, Consumers, Support groups
Paper type Literature review
Introduction
Support groups have been used in mental health for many decades as a means of providing a
forum to discuss problems and share experiences and information (Heller et al.,1997).
Support groupsare defined as meetings of people with similarexperiences, such as those defined
as carers of a person living with a mental illness or a person living with a mental illness. These
meetings aim to provide support and companionship to one another. Support groups offered
assistance at times when fewer services were available for people with mental illness and the
satisfaction that people expressed with those services was low. The move to deinstitutionalize
people from psychiatric hospitals intothe community, from the 1970s until now, alsoplayed a role
in the popularity of supportgroups, whereby families were re-imagined as participants in support
and recovery rather than the cause of mental illness (Heller et al., 1997; McFarlane, 2004).
Many support groupswere set up without a scientificevidence base. This literaturereview aims to
investigatecurrent research regardingthe effectiveness of supportgroups for families and carers of
people living with mental illness and people who have experienced mental illness themselves.
While onlinesupport is mentioned, this isnot a thorough study of online supportgroups or forums.
Method
Literature searches were conducted using Ovid Medline(R), PsychInfo and Proquest Central
databases. The subject headings “mutual support,”“self-help groups”and “support groups”
Hugh Worrall is a Support
Groups Coordinator,
Richard Schweizer is a Policy
Officer and Ellen Marks is a
General Manager, all at One
Door Mental Health, Sydney,
Australia.
Lin Yuan is a Research Fellow
at the School of Nursing,
Faculty of Science, Medicine
and Health, University of
Wollongong, Wollongong,
Australia.
Chris Lloyd is based at Griffith
University, Sydney, Australia.
Rob Ramjan is based at One
Door Mental Health, Sydney,
Australia.
DOI 10.1108/MHSI-12-2017-0055 VOL. 22 NO. 2 2018, pp. 85-93, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2042-8308
j
MENTALHEALTH AND SOCIAL INCLUSION
j
PAG E 85
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