Starting an in-hospital support group for employee victims of violence in the psychiatric hospital.

Violence perpetrated on the staff in our psychiatric hospitals is increasing. We believe an in-hospital support group for employee victims of violence is an effective and economical means of helping our staff, our patients, and the hospital in general. We believe that it is crucial to provide education about and to foster sensitization to issues of violence and that our staff must work together within the facility and with outside agencies, such as those in the legal system. We are just starting our support group at the Carter Center, and this paper discusses various practical points encountered thus far and some of the theoretical issues surrounding our beginning. We believe ours is an important prototype of staff support groups, which are vitally needed. I hope to publish a follow-up report on our group and the progress it has made.