Feasibility of the program
mental disorders, unstable psychiatric symptoms, psychiatric
EVENTS
In terms of program satisfaction and usefulness in life, the positive ratings were more than 95%. Therefore, we believe that this program meets the needs of the participants, although some of the participants experienced negative consequences. Two participants had an unscheduled psychiatric visit, and seven people reported being negatively affected, but they did not have an unscheduled psychiatric visit. Of these nine participants, seven experienced heightened psychological emotions due to the program. The reasons for the negative effects were as follows: the interactions with others made them feel less confident; listening to others reminded them of a painful past memory; a person was hurt by the words of a program facilitator.The program participants included people in a variety of situations: married, unmarried, and divorced. The program included content on parent-child relationship. Therefore, those who had not been successful in past marriages or who did not have a good relationship with their parents recalled unpleasant past events or compared themselves with others’ successes and lost confidence. Others felt stressed by people whose situations differed from their own. Many participants in the program described a positive change as they gained diverse ideas by sharing their thoughts and experiences with others, but others found it hard to compare themselves to others because of the diversity of program participants’ situations. Connectedness with others is an important part of recovery [Furthermore, the competence of the program facilitator may be related to participants’ negative experiences. The program’s structure of being a group focused on people with mental disorders and facilitated by peer facilitators was mentioned as a positive aspect of the program by many participants. Therefore, training must be strengthened to increase the capacity of peer facilitators. Additionally, trained professionals who support peer facilitators appear to be important element.Four of the applicants in this study were assessed by their psychiatrists to be unable to participate because of unstable psychiatric symptoms. It is undesirable for this program, which aims at recovery, to have individuals not deciding for themselves whether to participate in the program. However, some participants reported negative effects due to the program, although all recovered after one month. After this study was completed, we discussed with peer facilitators about whether we should continue to seek a psychiatrist’s permission to participate in the program. Many peer facilitators were concerned about the risk of worsening mental health conditions. Therefore, it was the peer facilitators’ decision to continue to encourage potential participants to consult a psychiatrist about program participation.