“Can We Zoom Out of the Hospital?": Online Behavioral Stress Management Groups

Stress management is a psychological treatment that is found to improve mental health and increase health outcomes. Online group therapy (OGT) is a relatively new modality for behavioral stress management, and its effectiveness is unknown. For the past 10 years, Assuta Medical Centers have been providing psychological face-to-face services. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the diversion to online modality. Alongside this change, a mixed methods study was conducted with 128 patients from the oncology institute, the IVF unit, and the pain clinic. Each group had four sessions at weekly intervals. Study participants were asked to complete a questionnaire before and after the intervention and group facilitators were interviewed in two focus groups. The online BSM group intervention was found to be effective for reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. Participants’ positive attitudes toward the OGT was high and improved after participation. Analysis of group facilitators’ experience showed both the advantages and challenges to the existence of OGT compared to face-to-face services. The results of the study indicate the importance of adapting the content and structure of the group to online platforms. Facilitators should dedicate time to clarifying the challenges posed by participants’ settings and their responsibility for ensuring privacy. Digital literacy and technological abilities may be improved by adding an extra pre-intervention meeting, adding a co-facilitator, and sending psychoeducational materials to participants between meetings. Future interventions and follow-up studies will seek to make further adjustments to the content and structure of BSM groups and examine how these aspects can be strengthened remotely.