Connectedness under social distancing - a support group practice report

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the brief report is to describe a form of community support group used during the Covid-19 virus epidemic in China. We describe the impetus for the support group (“Community Conversation Hour”), theoretical considerations, the structure of the group, and the recruitment process, and summarize participant responses and facilitator reflections to the group. Remarks regarding institutional support and the impact of the group are provided, as well as considerations for similar support groups in other countries.

KEYWORDS:

• Covid-19
• social distancing
• support group
• mindfulness
• emotion regulation
• online therapy

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the participants for their participation and courageous sharings. We would also like to thank United Family Hospital Shanghai for its institutional support and resources.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bojun Hu

Bojun Hu is a bilingual clinical psychologist working at United Family Hospital, an international hospital in China. Her research emphasizes the importance of discovering personal narratives and finding what is meaningful for the person. Dr. Hu completed her pre-doctoral psychology internship at Harvard Medical School (MMHC) where she specialized in the integration of psychodynamic therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), which involves integrating therapies informed by both Western traditions and the Eastern mind-body practices. She is also a certified yoga teacher and is developing an integrative, emotion-focused yoga practice. She is currently researching the use of embodied emotional processing within group settings, as a way of enhancing collaborative dialogues and interpersonal learning.

Xiaonan Huang

Xiaonan Julia Huang is a bilingual marriage and family therapist at United Family Hospital in Shanghai. She is a certified Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) practitioner. Julia received her Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy from Fuller Graduate Schools in California. Besides her interest and clinical work, she also devotes time in translating psychology books. Her works include the Chinese version of Crazy Like Us and A Peaceable Psychology.