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Group Reactions in a Hospital Crisis Intervention Programme

Psychiatric Department of Haukeland Hospital

Brit Haver

Karolinska Institute, Department of Clinical Alcohol and Drug Addiction Research, Stockholm, Sweden

Sigmund W. Karterud

University of Oslo, Department for Psychiatry, Ullevaal University Hospital

The paper describes group reactions among survivors, relatives and hospital staff participating in a crisis intervention programme following a bus accident in Norway. The survivors and the dead were brought to the regional hospital. The groups gathered were injured children and adults, and relatives of injured and dead victims. The participating hospital staff were mainly members of the intensive care unit, staff from two surgical wards and personnel from the psychiatric service unit. Group reactions observed were suggestibility and helplessness; a lack of autonomous functioning as individuals followed by group reinforcements of emotional out-bursts, and subsequently, fight/flight reactions and intergroup rivalry, parallel to an idealization of the Norwegian crisis team. Similar reactions were to a lesser extent also seen among members of staff groups. There was a reduction in the hospital's capacity to maintain its ordinary treatment programmes during the crisis intervention.

Key Words: crisis intervention • group processes • bereavement • defence mechanisms

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