Trimble Edward A, Bormann Nicholas L, Kalata Alyssa H, Gerberi Dana, Arndt Stephan, Oesterle Tyler S
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Subst Abuse Rehabil. 2025 May 14;16:137-146. doi: 10.2147/SAR.S518266. eCollection 2025.
Substance use disorder (SUD) group therapy has traditionally been conducted in-person; however, there is growing interest in virtual formats. While virtual group therapy can address certain barriers for in-person attendance, it may compromise key elements like therapeutic alliance and group cohesiveness. A model that integrates both in-person and virtual participants may help balance the benefits of these two approaches.
To identify and define approaches to SUD group therapy that integrate in-person and virtual participants, summarize study outcomes associated with these models, propose standardized terminology, and provide preliminary recommendations for their application in SUD treatment.
A comprehensive search was conducted on 11/13/2024 and updated on 12/16/2024 by a medical librarian. Included articles were published 2000 onwards and conducted with SUD group therapy where participants or group facilitators were both in-person and virtual. We extracted data from 4 articles that met the search criteria.
A total of 1353 articles were screened, 20 were evaluated at the full-text level, and 4 met study inclusion criteria. Two "hybrid" model designs for SUD were identified. One model utilized a virtual group facilitator, while participants remained together in-person. The second model kept the facilitator in-person and allowed group participants to be present either virtually or in-person within the same group. Outcomes evaluated included treatment completion across groups and patient perceived changes in therapeutic alliance, group cohesion, and understanding of addiction.
We propose a consensus definition of hybrid virtual group models where at least one group member, either the facilitator or one of the participants, attends groups in-person while at least one member attends virtually. While research is limited, early findings suggest that hybrid SUD groups have similar outcomes to in-person groups and better outcomes than virtual-only groups. Unique considerations should be made to ensure that hybrid SUD models are implemented appropriately and effectively.
物质使用障碍（SUD）团体治疗传统上是面对面进行的；然而，人们对虚拟形式的兴趣与日俱增。虽然虚拟团体治疗可以解决面对面参与的某些障碍，但它可能会损害治疗联盟和团体凝聚力等关键要素。一种将面对面和虚拟参与者整合在一起的模式可能有助于平衡这两种方法的益处。
识别和定义整合面对面和虚拟参与者的SUD团体治疗方法，总结与这些模式相关的研究结果，提出标准化术语，并为其在SUD治疗中的应用提供初步建议。
2024年11月13日进行了全面检索，并于2024年12月16日由医学图书馆员进行了更新。纳入的文章发表于2000年以后，研究对象为SUD团体治疗，其中参与者或团体促进者既有面对面的，也有虚拟的。我们从4篇符合检索标准的文章中提取了数据。
共筛选了1353篇文章，20篇进行了全文评估，4篇符合研究纳入标准。确定了两种SUD的“混合”模式设计。一种模式使用虚拟团体促进者，而参与者则面对面聚在一起。第二种模式让促进者面对面，允许团体参与者在同一团体中以虚拟或面对面的方式出席。评估的结果包括各团体的治疗完成情况以及患者对治疗联盟、团体凝聚力和成瘾理解的感知变化。
我们提出了混合虚拟团体模式的共识定义，即至少有一名团体成员，无论是促进者还是参与者之一，面对面参加团体，而至少有一名成员以虚拟方式参加。虽然研究有限，但早期研究结果表明，混合SUD团体的结果与面对面团体相似，且比仅虚拟团体的结果更好。应进行独特的考量，以确保混合SUD模式得到适当和有效的实施。
