In collaboration with the Alliance Against Depression in the Wesel district and the Wesel Healthcare Service, students investigated the support programme ‘Support groups for people with depression’ for those affected
Feeling down is a normal part of life. Depression, however, is quite distinct from this. Depression is a mental health condition that can range from mild forms to severe depressive disorders. It can affect anyone, but is usually treatable. Alongside medication and psychotherapy, support measures form another valuable component of depression treatment.
One such support measure is the ‘support groups for people with depression’ in the Wesel district. This support service is offered to those with mild to moderate depression and is designed to bridge the gap between diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
This service is provided by the Alliance Against Depression in the Wesel district, where group participants have the opportunity, during the sessions, to share their experiences of depression and how they cope with it, under the guidance of a specialist. In addition, information is provided about the condition and its treatment options.
Working closely with professionals from this alliance – drawn from the Wesel Health Service – and the facilitators of the support groups, students on the ‘Bio Science and Health’ degree programme at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences in Kleve investigated the effectiveness of the support groups.
To assess the effectiveness of the support groups, the students developed a survey which, through questionnaires and face-to-face interviews with participants and the group facilitators, documented participants’ experiences within the group. After analysing the data, the students were able to confirm a positive outcome regarding the effectiveness of the support groups. The results of the study showed that those affected consistently felt better informed about their condition, and that participants rated the opportunity to share their own experiences of living with the condition within the group as very positive.
In addition to investigating the effectiveness of the programme, the students also examined how the public was made aware of the ‘support groups for people with depression’ and how awareness of the programme could be further increased.
At the conclusion of the project, the students concluded that the ‘support group for people with depression’ is a valuable service for those affected by depression and that it would be beneficial to expand services of this kind to include relatives. It would also be desirable to adopt a more open approach to the subject of depression in order to remove the stigma surrounding it and the way it is dealt with.
Throughout the project, the students were supervised by Prof. Dr Robert Renner, Professor of Health Promotion and Nutrition at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences, and Heike Holtappel, a research assistant at the Faculty of Life Sciences at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences.
