A staff nurse is assigned to lead a community group meeting comprised mostly of psychotic clients. When setting up this type of group meeting, the nurse recognizes that

Question

a. refreshments should always be eliminated in order to keep the meeting room neat and orderly.
b. acutely psychotic clients generally can participate in community group meetings prior to being stabilized.
c. the group leader should take a passive role in order to avoid frightening the clients.
d. choosing a fellow staff member to help co-lead the group is recommended.

Answer 1

ANS: D
Staff nurses are sometimes called upon to lead or co-lead unit-based group psychotherapy on inpatient units. Other times staff nurses participate in community group meetings comprised mostly of psychotic clients. Although acutely psychotic clients usually cannot participate until they are stabilized, community groups and small structured therapy groups can be useful. A directive but flexible leadership approach is needed. Because the demands of leadership are so intense with psychotic clients, co-leadership is recommended. Co-therapists can share the group process interventions, model healthy behaviors, offset negative transference from group members, and provide useful feedback to each other. An introductory format for support group leaders includes potentially allowing time for informal networking through providing a 10-minute break with or without refreshments in order to allow members to interact informally with each other. If a group topic is not forthcoming from members, the leader can introduce a relevant, concrete, problem-centered topic of potential interest to the group.