scholarly journals Support-nets: A participative Action-research into the Value of a Mutual Support Group to overcome Social Isolation.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-87
Author(s):  
Jenny Zwijnenburg ◽  
Tine Van Regenmortel ◽  
René Schalk
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Support Group ◽  
Mutual Support ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Shared Identity ◽  
Socially Isolated ◽  
Set Up

Social isolation is a widespread problem with which community oriented social workers are increasingly confronted. Mutual support groups can be used by social workers to support socially isolated people. This paper reports on a participatory action research into the method Support-nets. In this method, a mutual support group is set up specifically for people that share the problem of social isolation. The aim of the study was to gain insight in how participants and social workers give substance to mutual support to overcome structural social isolation. Results show that in a Support-net, every participant is enabled to actively contribute. This makes participants feel that they are valued members of a social group. Based on this shared identity, people offer each other different types of social support, thus alleviating their isolation.

Addressing COVID-19 Worry and Social Isolation in Home-Based Primary Care

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Elizabeth Weiskittle ◽  
Michelle Mlinac ◽  
LICSW Nicole Downing
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Mental Health Providers ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Home Based Primary Care ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Socially Isolated

Social distancing measures following the outbreak of COVID-19 have led to a rapid shift to virtual and telephone care. Social workers and mental health providers in VA home-based primary care (HBPC) teams face challenges providing psychosocial support to their homebound, medically complex, socially isolated patient population who are high risk for poor health outcomes related to COVID-19. We developed and disseminated an 8-week telephone or virtual group intervention for front-line HBPC social workers and mental health providers to use with socially isolated, medically complex older adults. The intervention draws on skills from evidence-based psychotherapies for older adults including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, and Problem-Solving Therapy. The manual was disseminated to VA HBPC clinicians and geriatrics providers across the United States in March 2020 for expeditious implementation. Eighteen HBPC teams and three VA Primary Care teams reported immediate delivery of a local virtual or telephone group using the manual. In this paper we describe the manual’s development and clinical recommendations for its application across geriatric care settings. Future evaluation will identify ways to meet longer-term social isolation and evolving mental health needs for this patient population as the pandemic continues.

What works for peer support groups: learning from mental health and wellbeing groups in Bath and North East Somerset

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Fieldhouse ◽  
Vanessa Parmenter ◽  
Ralph Lillywhite ◽  
Philippa Forsey
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Action Inquiry ◽  
North East ◽  
Shared Identity ◽  
Group Members

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore what worked well in terms of peer involvement in a diverse network of community groups for people affected by mental health problems in Bath and North East Somerset (BANES), UK. Design/methodology/approach A participatory action inquiry approach engaged the network’s key stakeholders (group members, facilitators, and commissioners) in critical reflection on what supported successful groups. Findings Successful groups have six characteristics: mutual support, a positive shared identity, opportunities for taking on roles, negotiated ground rules, skilled facilitation, and a conducive physical environment. Additionally, each group achieved a balance between the following areas of tension: needing ground rules but wanting to avoid bureaucracy, needing internal structure whilst also committing to group activities, balancing leadership with accountability, wanting peer leadership whilst acknowledging the burden of this responsibility, and lobbying for change in mental health services whilst acknowledging the need for support from them. Research limitations/implications The evaluation shows a group’s success is about adaptability and group facilitation is the art of navigating a course through these competing demands above. These insights have informed plans for a practical guide for developing peer led groups and for training of peer leaders in BANES. Originality/value This evaluation focuses on self-efficacy. It draws on group members’ own perceptions of what worked best for them to provide transferable learning about how peer led support groups might develop more generally. It can thus inform the growth of a comparatively new kind of community-based support for people with mental health problems and for their carers.

Mutual Support Groups With Parents of Leukemic Children

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-118
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Lambi
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Support Group ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Similar Group ◽  
Mutual Support ◽  
Pediatric Department ◽  
Mutual Support Groups ◽  
Excellent Article

Having read the article, "Group Discussion With the Parents of Leukemic Children," by Heffron et al. (Pediatrics, 52:831, 1973) with great interest, I would like to suggest that similar group meetings are being held at other centers. I draw to your attention the excellent article, "Helping the Parents of Children With Leukemia," by Knapp and Hansen, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles (Social Work, Vol. 18, No. 4, July 1973). Dr. Brian McSheffrey and I, through our contact with leukemic children in the Pediatric Department of University Hospital, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, have been experimenting with mutual support group for parents of leukemic children since November 1971.

A Beginners' Guide to Setting up a Relatives' Support Group for Carers of Elderly People with a Mental Illness

1989 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 105-107
Author(s):  
Sue Penna
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Support Group ◽  
Future Development ◽  
The Future ◽  
Need For Support ◽  
Set Up

This article discusses the need for support groups for the carers of elderly people with a mental illness, and offers suggestions on how to set up and run a relatives' support group. It is hoped that it may not only encourage those working in this field to set up similar groups but also provoke discussion on the future development of such groups.

scholarly journals La capacitación antirracista con perspectiva de género. Un aporte metodológico

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Olga Lucía Obando Salazar
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Political Education ◽  
Social Intervention ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Doctoral Thesis ◽  
Political Work ◽  
Set Up

Resumen: Este trabajo resume la tesis doctoral «Trabajo de capacitaciónantirracista con mujeres jóvenes - un aporte a los aspectosmetodológicos del trabajo de capacitación antirracista deGénero, bajo la implementación del método de la InvestigaciónAcción», presentada en la Universidad Técnica de Berlín,Facultad de Ciencias Filosóficas. Se planteó un proyecto deinvestigación e intervención con cinco grupos de mujeresjóvenes en Alemania, que expresan interés en un trabajo políticoantirracista. Este trabajo se encamina a fortalecer lascapacidades de las jóvenes como multiplicadoras del trabajoantirracista.Palabras clave: Trabajo antirracista de género, educaciónpolítica, psicología y género, investigación acción, niñas yadolescentesAbstract:This paper summarizes the doctoral thesis «Antiracist educationfor young women—a methodological contribution from a genderperspective, by means of the implementation of the method ofResearch as Participatory Action», presented at the TechnicalUniversity of Berlin, School of Philosophical Sciences. Aresearch and social intervention project was set up with fivegroups of young women in Germany who express an interest inantiracist political work. This work is aimed at strengtheningthe young women’s abilities as multipliers of antiracist efforts.Key words: Antiracism gender work, political education, genderand psychology, Action-research, girls and adolescents

scholarly journals ThroughBlue: A support group for women affected by depression

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-63
Author(s):  
Trish McBride ◽  
Jane Fuller
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Support Group ◽  
Australian Study ◽  
Therapeutic Value ◽  
Mental Health Support ◽  
Health Support ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Way

Recent US research has validated the benefits and therapeutic value of peer support groups as a treatment component for depression, as has a 2008 Australian study of a women’s mental health support group. As facilitators working weekly with ThroughBlue, a support group of women who have experience of depression, we had already discovered the truth of their findings. This paper is a description of the way this Wellington group works, and may be of use to others looking to set up or facilitate similar groups elsewhere.

Finding a place for my research to belong: experiences of early-career social work participatory action researchers in neoliberal academia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine S. Kramer ◽  
Darren Cosgrove ◽  
Sarah Mountz ◽  
Eunwoo Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Participatory Research ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Community Based ◽  
The Us

Social workers face complex challenges that demand practice-engaged research and research-engaged practice. Participatory action research and community-based participatory research span the boundaries that often exist between the research and practice communities. Some social workers argue the values underpinning participatory action research and community-based participatory research align with the values of the profession; however, such methodologies are not widely represented in social work research in the US. This article presents the findings of a study examining the lived experiences of 15 early-career scholars, mostly based in the US, who were pursuing participatory action research and community-based participatory research. The neoliberalisation of the academy pervaded their experiences, presenting significant barriers to their ability to pursue action-oriented methodologies. Review of the international participatory action research literature also suggests the US may contrast with other regions in the world like Asia and Latin America, where participatory action research is more robust. Recommendations to better develop participatory action research social work literature are offered.

scholarly journals SOCIAL ISOLATION, LONELINESS, AND CAREGIVER BURDEN AMONG PAID AND UNPAID CAREGIVERS OF HOMEBOUND OLDER ADULTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S967-S967
Author(s):  
Amy Y Sun ◽  
Emily Finkelstein ◽  
Karin Ouchida
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Caregiver Burden ◽  
Chronically Ill ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Socially Isolated ◽  
Homebound Older Adults ◽  
Paid Caregivers

Abstract Caregivers of homebound older adults may have high levels of burden and more vulnerability to social isolation and loneliness, given that their care recipients are more physically frail and isolated. Existing literature has not fully investigated differences between paid and unpaid caregiver burden or their experiences of social isolation. We interviewed paid (n=21) and unpaid family caregivers (n=22) of homebound older adults in a hospital-affiliated geriatric house call program. We used validated survey instruments to measure social isolation, loneliness, and caregiver burden, and semi-structured interviews to solicit qualitative data. In our sample, 42% of caregivers helped with 5+ ADLs and 58% with 5+ iADLs. Using the Caregiver Burden Inventory, burden types between caregivers were compared with chi-squared tests. Compared to paid caregivers, unpaid family caregivers experienced more “developmental” burden such as “missing out on life” (p<0.01). Paid caregivers exhibited more “time” burden, such as “not having a minute’s break from caregiving responsibilities” (p<0.01). 44% of caregivers were considered socially isolated according to the Berkman-Syme Social Index. However, using the UCLA 3-item Loneliness Scale, few caregivers felt lonely (14%). Thematic analysis revealed that family caregivers desired support groups but time pressures limited their participation (23%). Interestingly, smart phones were regularly cited as a tool for alleviating loneliness for paid caregivers when alone on the job (19%), a novel finding. Findings suggest that caregivers of the chronically ill and physically isolated may be at particular risk of social isolation. Network based social support interventions may mitigate some of these vulnerabilities.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document