Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify the process of changes in awareness of groupwork among people with mental illness attending a community support center. We conducted semi-structure interviews involving 6 persons with mental illness who participated in psychoeducational groupwork delivered by nurses. The interview results were analyzed using the modified grounded theory approach, employing a constant comparative analysis method. As a result, we extracted 4 categories and 2 subcategories. The people with mental illness were found to have participated in groupwork with a core concept of "wishing to be, and becoming the person one wants to be." Their awareness of groupwork developed from "establishing a foundation to gain a sense of reassurance" to "establishing a foundation for change," which then led to awareness of "future possibility." The findings suggested that people with mental illness were active participants with a willingness to change to become the person they wished to be, and that groupwork conducted by nurses was likely to be an effective support method to facilitate such positive changes.
