Date of Award

Spring 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Nursing

Abstract

Group therapy is an essential part of inpatient psychiatric treatment, with documented positive effects including better medication compliance, lower readmission rate, and improved self- esteem. Patients who are admitted for an inpatient psychiatric stay have a small window of time in which behavioral health staff can work with them. Group therapy can help patients develop a plan for these issues and provide a foundation for successful discharge and symptom management. The project site is a mid-size teaching hospital in an urban community with higher rates of mental health diagnoses than the national average. Group therapy was conducted initially Monday – Friday, leaving a gap on the weekends. Increasing group therapy to occur daily is important for patients to deter boredom, maintain routine and maximize intervention time for vulnerable patients. This quality improvement project utilized a retrospective data analysis to determine if having daily group therapy significantly impacted patient safety and quality metrics, specifically the usage of restraints, seclusion, and average length of stay. Data analysis showed statistically significant reductions in both restraint and seclusion. This is especially impressive as the overall volume of patients decreased while the length of stay increased, pointing towards higher acuity.

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