Psychiatric Liaison Support Groups For General Hospital Staffs

The value of psychiatric liaison services to hospital staffs is exemplified by liaison support groups. Including medical, nursing, and ancillary personnel, these groups strive to reduce work-related stress, which, left unchecked, can lead to depression, work dissatisfaction, and a high rate of personnel turnover. The group structure is designed to encourage the staff to ventilate their concerns, receive constructive feedback, bolster morale, and improvepatient care. The author enumerates the problems support groups encounter, particularly resistance, and describes how they function by providing examples and comparisons with group psychotherapy.