Nurse led education groups

[Erika Peterson, LPN]

Hi all! I’m new to posting on the boards but have been reading for years. Sorry if I ramble or this gets drawn out super long!

 

I currently work on units with adults with ranging illnesses, from Mental Health to Chemical Dependency to Dual Diagnosis  

Every afternoon I lead a nursing group involving a wide range of topics-medication adherence, hygiene, coping skills, etc. We currently have a binder of topics that rotate weekly (week 1 & 3 and weeks 2&4 are repeated). The patients usually lose their interest in minutes, and honestly a lot of the info is geared towards younger people, ex-why it’s important to brush your teeth and shower regularly. It’s just not a good fit for my patient population. 
 

Anyway, the point is that I’ve been asking the clinical director to change these up for about 2 years ago and nothings getting done! I was wondering if anyone knows of or has used a book with ideas. Ideally I like handouts, worksheets or having the patients participate instead of just reading about “why it’s important to wear clean underwear,” not even kidding about that one! And it’s kind of hard to find internet resources  

This post ended up WAY longer than I intended (sorry)  so if you’ve managed to keep reading, does anyone have any suggestions on books with decent topics/handouts/worksheets? 
Thanks in advance for any ideas or suggestions!

[TheMoonisMyLantern, ADN, LPN, RN]

Check out this site, I found it really helpful 

 

https://www.therapistaid.com/

[maggie0, BSN, RN]

I use therapistaid.com all the time! Some really good stuff, and time saving.

[PsychNurse24, BSN, RN]

This doesn’t really answer your question, and I see you have lots of experience so you might do this already. I work inpatient psych and do groups and luckily there are books in our central station that I use for subjects. But the best thing to happen to our groups was me bringing in my Alexa. We go around the room and each person gets to pick a song and we talk about the subject in between music. I found that it really lightens the mood and encourages people to participate.  We’ve even been up in group and learned how to line dance, LOL.

[Paula Gisler]

We are currently upgrading our programming and the following is the Table of Contents for our new 7 day programming that will include these 17 nursing led groups - for the first time in a long time that nurses have done groups!  Happy to share all the files if you need them.  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Note:  "Worksheet" indicates this is something the patient should complete while in group.

 

Module 1:

Group Guide - The Disease Process in Mental Health

Quiz:  Mental Illness:  The Disease Process (patient handout/worksheet)

Patient handout:  Genetics and Mental Health

Patient handout:  Epigenetics and Mental Health

Patient handout:  Habits are Hard-wired into your Brain

 

Module 2:

Group Guide - Common Diagnoses in Mental Health

Patient handout:  Common Myths about Psychiatric Disorders

Patient handouts (most appropriate to  what was discussed in the group among the diagnoses:

Schizophrenia (Source of this and all others was the Veteran's Administration) handout

OCD handout

Major depression handout

PTSD handout

Bipolar I handout

Bipolar II handout

Schizoaffective disorder handout

Facts about Alcohol and Drug Use in Persons Diagnosed with a Psychiatric Disorder handout

Personality Disorders handout

Dementias handout

 

Module 3:

Group Guide - Healthy Weight 

Quiz:  Healthy Weight/worksheet

"Finding Your Healthy Weight" handout/worksheet

"Mental Health and Obesity" handout

 

Module 4:

Group Guide - Medications and Psychiatric Illness

Managing Your Medication Handout

My Personal List of Medications Handout/worksheet

Patient handouts (most appropriate to  what was discussed in the group among re: medications):

Antidepressants handout

Antipsychotics handout

Sedative Hypnotics Handout

Mood Stabilizers Handout

Antianxiety Agents handout

 

Module 5:

Group Guide - Sleep Education Group

Sleep Questionnaire (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) handout/worksheet

Insomnia:  Sleep Hygiene patient handout

 

Module 6:

Group Guide - Mental and Physical Wellness

Self-care assessment patient handout/worksheet

 

Module 7:

Group Guide - Anxiety Management

Anxiety: Background information handout/worksheet

Causes of Anxiety Handout

Types of Anxiety Handout

 

Module 8:

Group Guide - Habit and Addiction

My Habit Loop handout/worksheet

Creating New Habit Loops handout/worksheet

 

Module 9:

Group Guide - Anger Management

Anger Warning Signs handout/ worksheet

Passive, Aggressive and Assertive Communication Styles handout

Fair Fighting Rules handout

Coping Skills handout

 

Module 10:

Group Guide - Forgiveness of Self and Others

What Forgiveness is and what it is not handout

When Someone Forgives you handout/worksheet

Forgiving Others handout/worksheet

Forgiving Yourself handout/worksheet

Deciding to Forgive handout/worksheet

Tips on Forgiving Self and Others handout

 

Module 11:

Group Guide - Rational Thinking and Feeling

Cognitive Triangle Handout

The Cognitive Model handout/worksheet

Challenging Negative Thoughts handout/worksheet

 

Module 12:

Group Guide - Faulty Thinking

Testing Your Irrational Thoughts handout/worksheet (by Beck)

Automatic Thoughts handout/worksheet

Cognitive Distortions handout

 

Module 13:

Group Guide - Dealing with Loss in Your Life

Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale handout/worksheet

 

Module 14:

Group Guide - Stress Management

Symptoms of Stress Handout/worksheet

 

Module 15:

Group Guide - Suicidal Thinking

Suicide Risk Factor Assessment handout/worksheet

Safety Plan Template handout/worksheet

 

Module 16:

Group Guide - Overcoming Toxic Shame

Shame Patient Questionnaire handout/worksheet

The Dysfunctional Family Rules Which Create Toxic Shame handout

Strategies for Healing from Toxic Shame handout