Job-related group therapy intervention
Author(s): Stefan Koch and A. Hillert Country: Germany
Is the intervention sector specific?	No
Is the intervention usable with different enterprise sizes?	Yes
Is the intervention equally applicable to both genders?	Yes
Is the intervention based on theory?	Yes
Can the intervention approach be adapted/ tailored?	Yes
Does the intervention promote CSR and how?	The intervention was not explicitly linked to responsible business practices although it does promote employee well-being
Does the intervention promote social dialogue and how?	Social dialogue was not a central component of this intervention; however enhancing communication skills of patients with colleagues and supervisors is a core component of programme
Overview (including risk assessment and law – legal requirements etc.): Stefan Koch and colleagues at the Roseneck Centre of Behavioural Medicine, Germany, have developed a job-related group-therapy intervention for the treatment of psychosomatic patients with high levels of occupational stress. The overall aim of this intervention is psychosomatic rehabilitation within the context of inpatient treatment. A core objective of the in-patient group therapy is to try and help people with chronic work problems and high levels of occupational stress, illness and disability to return to work; in short, to facilitate a more active participation and reintegration of patients into working life, and to teach sick-listed employees to manage and cope with stress more productively and effectively.
Implementation: This in-patient group therapy has 8 sessions lasting 90 -100 minutes. The group is made up of 8-10 individuals comprising of: men and women, individuals from a variety of professions, and with various health problems. Sessions are delivered over a course of 4 weeks: 2 sessions per week. The intervention programme consists of four modules: The first module discusses motivation and goal-setting changes in stress-relevant coping behaviour. One of the key components of this module is outlining the link between psychosocial issues and occupational stress, and psychosomatic symptoms: in both their development and maintenance over time. The second module examines job-specific social skills and coping with social conflicts at work. Subsequent session(s) is (are) spent utilizing role play exercises; thereby, allowing patients an opportunity to practise and develop the skills acquired during this module. The third module discusses coping with acute and chronic stress; specifically outlining both short-term and long-term coping strategies. The fourth and final, module is entitled ‘job perspective’. This module seeks to discuss strategies and methods to transfer the knowledge and skills acquired through the previous three modules within the context of an inpatient programme into the ‘real world’ and fully integrated into working life.
Practical applications: This a modular group therapy approach has an establish protocol and manual (recently published in German) making it easily applicable at practical level. Koch and colleagues indicate that this intervention’s protocol demonstrates a high level of adaptability to various kinds of clinical and counselling settings. Additionally, the authors suggest that in order to implement this group therapy intervention effectively, the intervention leader/trainer requires a basic therapeutic background and established knowledge.
Innovative aspects: The job-related group therapy intervention is the first clinical inpatient-treatment focussing on occupational stress management.
Evaluation (including process issues, outcomes and sustainability): Patients in the intervention group were compared to patients in a standard symptomatic therapy only group. Measurements were taken at three time points: at admission, discharge, and at 12 months post-treatment follow up. A variety of measurements were taken: assessing the objective work environment (work status, sick days, applications for early retirement) and subjective estimates of intensity of work stressors, individual coping skills, and satisfaction with treatment.
Benefits (including cost effectiveness): The results of the evaluation of the intervention, as compared to the standard symptomatic therapy, at 12 months post treatment assessment, demonstrate that participants were more likely to: • maintain work and a reduction in the demonstrated intention to apply for early retirement; • a reduction in a type of coping related to ‘burn-out’; • and demonstrate increased satisfaction with work–related aspects to treatment (namely, occupational stress, and conflicts with colleagues). Both treatment groups (intervention and standard group therapy) resulted in increased job satisfaction, experienced increased control at work; and an observed significant reduction in social stressors at work and occupational worries.
References: Koch, S. & Hillert, A. Occupational stress management in tertiary prevention: Controlled evaluation of an inpatient program. In S. McIntyre & J. HoudmontOccupational Health Psychology: Key Paper of the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology 7th edition (pg.138-139). Edicoes ISMAI: Castelo da Maia, Portugal.
Comments: The protocol for this intervention has recently been published as a book; however, currently it is only available in German.