1730Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust (BSMHFT), Birmingham, UK.
Int J Psychiatry Med. 2022 Jul;57(4):269-282. doi: 10.1177/00912174211053733. Epub 2022 Feb 1.
Current literature highlights peer and psychological support as important for staff well-being, to cope in pandemic conditions.
Our organisation increased Balint group provision during unfamiliar challenges of COVID-19. This unique context allowed comparison of multiple new virtual and face-to-face (F2F) Balint experiences.
Following March 2020 lockdown, four existing Balint groups for doctors in psychiatry moved to online, with two new groups established virtually in specific response to the pandemic. All participants and facilitators of these virtual Balint groups were sent a questionnaire to anonymously rate their experience and provide qualitative feedback.
The response rate was 89% for participants (51 respondents) and 100% for facilitators (5 respondents). Participants found both formats supportive; providing a space to talk, feel heard and validated, helping work feel less stressful. Participant ratings slightly favoured F2F, but some prefer to continue virtually. Facilitators felt virtual attendance was easier, but adherence to conventional Balint group structure and format more difficult.
Participant and facilitator responses demonstrate Balint groups, when both F2F and virtual, were experienced as a source of support and connectivity, being valued across different psychiatry grades. Notable virtual benefits seem to be limited to more practical aspects, that is, time, flexibility, logistics and accessibility. There are expressed challenges of virtual Balint; however, some participants still favour this format going forward. Our findings endorse virtual Balint as a welcomed means of emotional well-being, peer support and developing psychotherapeutic competencies during pandemic-related restrictions, with potential to extend beyond COVID-19.
现有文献强调同伴支持和心理支持对于员工的幸福感很重要，这有助于他们应对大流行时期的各种情况。
在 COVID-19 大流行带来的前所未有的挑战下，我们组织增加了巴林特小组的服务。这种独特的情况使我们能够比较多种新的虚拟和面对面（F2F）巴林特小组体验。
在 2020 年 3 月封锁之后，现有的四个精神病学医生巴林特小组转移到了线上，另外还专门针对疫情设立了两个新的虚拟小组。所有参与虚拟巴林特小组的参与者和协调员都收到了一份问卷，要求他们匿名评估自己的体验并提供定性反馈。
参与者的回复率为 89%（51 名受访者），协调员的回复率为 100%（5 名协调员）。参与者认为这两种形式都很有帮助；为他们提供了一个可以倾诉、被倾听和被认可的空间，帮助他们减轻工作压力。参与者对 F2F 略微更有好感，但也有人更喜欢继续虚拟形式。协调员认为虚拟出席更容易，但更难遵循传统的巴林特小组结构和形式。
参与者和协调员的反馈表明，巴林特小组无论是面对面还是虚拟形式，都被视为一种支持和联系的来源，在不同的精神病学级别中都受到重视。虚拟巴林特小组的明显优势似乎仅限于更实际的方面，即时间、灵活性、后勤和可及性。虚拟巴林特小组也存在一些挑战，但仍有部分参与者倾向于继续采用这种形式。我们的研究结果支持将虚拟巴林特小组作为在与大流行相关的限制期间促进情绪健康、同伴支持和发展心理治疗能力的一种受欢迎的方式，这种方式可能在 COVID-19 之后继续存在。
