Patient Recovery Enhanced When Support Groups, Physicians Work Together

Newswise — The Pennsylvania Medical Society says that health care support group therapy, coordinated with physician treatment, often enhances a patient’s recovery. With guidance from their doctors, patients can benefit by seeking out support groups to help them cope with the effects of a disease and better respond to medical treatment.

“Simultaneous medical care and support group participation can be the best of both worlds,” says Medical Society member internist Stephen Clay, M.D., of Philadelphia.

According to the Medical Society, patients tend to fare better when their physical treatment is coordinated with the emotional and social support that only people with similar conditions can offer. “While we, as physicians, can diagnose disease and treat the body, support groups can provide, from first-hand experience, the understanding and coping skills patients need to adjust to their conditions,” explains Adam Gordon, M.D., M.P.H., a Medical Society member internist in Pittsburgh who specializes in addiction medicine.

Dr. Clay, also an addiction medicine specialist, cites alcoholics as a good example of how this dual approach works. “By using different but complementary methods, support groups and physicians together help alcoholics avoid tempting situations and encourage them to remain strong, sober and safe. While a physician can check a patient’s progress during medical appointments, the support group can provide help and encouragement at regular meetings and on the phone.”

A Stanford University study found that drug and alcohol abusers who participated in support groups following treatment were less apt to use drugs and alcohol, developed deeper friendships and coped better with stress. Dr. Clay says, “In almost every case of alcoholism, a relapse is caused because a person is no longer part of a group.”

Support groups can be a lifeline for patients with a number of illnesses but perhaps mostly for those with medical conditions that are socially stigmatized, for example, sexually transmitted diseases, eating disorders, psychiatric problems, alcoholism and drug addiction. Dr. Gordon notes that hospitals and churches often host highly regarded, confidential groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, as well as related groups for friends and family members.

To get the most out of a support group experience, the Medical Society suggests that patients first talk with their doctors about personal goals and expectations. Each person’s needs are different and deserve to be addressed individually. It’s important to recognize that, while recovery and healing are the ideal, an equally worthy goal is to improve quality of life by learning to cope with major lifestyle changes or daunting therapies.

According to the Medical Society, when choosing a support group, look for one that is well organized, reputable and has medical counsel available. Your doctor can be a reliable source of information on local support groups and would be interested in your reaction to the experience. Counselors, social workers, hospitals and local
chapters of national health organizations like the American Cancer Society or American Heart Association may offer referrals as well. Also, check your local newspaper’s calendar of events.

The Medical Society suggests patients ask if support groups have physician approval or involvement, particularly for those related to major diseases that are chronic or life threatening.

A good support group should foster open communication and emotional support while helping members track down relevant information. The group replaces a patient’s or caregiver’s sense of isolation with a sense of belonging. This inclusive environment encourages members to express their feelings and concerns without fear of rejection.

People can participate in support groups in several ways—in person, via phone and online. The choice often is dictated by an individual’s schedule, need for social acceptance or preference for instant accessibility or privacy.

Phone partners—often extensions of support groups—can be particularly helpful for patients dealing with temptations and addictive behavior and for those who are physically weak from surgery or a treatment such as chemotherapy.

Online support groups, such as those with links from Web sites of leading medical institutions like Harvard Medical School, can be accessed from home at any time and are generally anonymous. To search out the best online group for you, check with a trustworthy face-to-face support group or your nearest chapter of a reputable health organization.

You can do your own Web search for a group, using “support groups” and the disease name as search terms, but the Medical Society advises caution. Those who join online groups—whether chat rooms, bulletin boards or listservs—should verify medical information with their own physicians for accuracy and relevance to their individual conditions. In fact, it’s most important for an online group to be facilitated by a medical professional, as very little may be known about the other participants and their sources of information.

Online chat rooms and message boards can’t offer the comfort of personal relationships and, therefore, can’t replace face-to-face support groups or appointments with physicians or counselors. The Medical Society also asks patients to beware of groups that are mainly a disguise for a commercial sales pitch or personal ax to grind and—for reasons of personal safety—cautions against giving out personal information.

Whatever format a person chooses, support groups, coordinated with physician treatment, can provide the ongoing help and encouragement that empower patients to make the most of their treatments and help caregivers to better understand and cope with highly charged situations. In the end, the patient is the winner with a healing process that can be more thorough and, in some cases, expedited by the dual approach.