‘Life just kind of sparkles’: Clients’ experiences of being in a Cognitive Behavioural Group and its impact on reducing shame in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

This is a qualitative study exploring the personal accounts of service users relating to their experiences of being in Group Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (GCBT) with others who share a similar difficulty associated with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Qualitative process research is lacking in the area of GCBT which has been recently developed for OCD and this study aims to address the gap. Eight participants were purposively selected from two groups. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Reflexivity sections have been incorporated to highlight my process and reflexive capacity during the research cycle.
Five superordinate themes were generated in the participants’ personal accounts relating to the experience of being in group therapy. These were eventually labelled as ‘Engagement in the group process’, ‘Normalising’, ‘Courage to Fight’, ‘Being my own Therapist’ and ‘Restricted by Shame vs. Engaging with Life’. Participants also commented on the helpful aspects of group therapy and made recommendations for change to the content and structure of the group.
The thesis documents my analysis relating to the meaning for participants who shared in a group with others who had a similar difficulty and highlights the significant benefits of the group process as an intervention. Aspects of the group experience that hindered engagement in therapy are also explored. Implications for Cognitive Behavioural Theory are discussed and the relationship of the findings to Social Psychology is explored. The relevance of the findings to Counselling Psychology is highlighted. Recommendations for improvement to the content and structure of ongoing groups are outlined and the role of the group in future clinical practice is explored. A critical appraisal outlining the strengths and limitations of the study is presented and suggestions for future research are highlighted.