900 Experience of the tree of life narrative group therapy delivered virtually for children and young people with diabetes (CYPD) during COVID 19 pandemic

• Published in: Archives of disease in childhood 2021-10, Vol.106 (Suppl 1), p.A156-A156
• Main Authors: Jain, Neemisha, MacQueen, Ruth
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abstracts; Children; COVID-19; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Feedback; Group therapy; Internet; Pandemics; Pediatrics; Psychologists; Telemedicine; Training; Young Adults
• ISSN: 0003-9888; 1468-2044
• DOI: 10.1136/archdischild-2021-rcpch.271

BackgroundThe Tree of Life group draws on narrative therapy and aims to help young people to connect with narratives and identities beyond that of their diagnosis of diabetes. It is typically delivered in a face-to-face group setting but has been adapted to be delivered online primarily in response COVID-19.ObjectivesThe key objectives were toEvaluate input required to successfully deliver group narrative therapyEvaluate feedback from CYPD who completed the online group sessionReflect as facilitators who had delivered their first Tree of Life groupConsider the feasibility of future sessions being online.Methods14 young people age 11–13 were invited to attend via email/telephone contact. CYPD were identified based on previous known psychosocial adjustment difficulties.The group was facilitated by a Consultant Paediatrician and Clinical Psychologist, both had completed training in facilitating the Tree of Life group.In preparation for adapting the group to be virtual, additional training was completed by the Clinical Psychologist. The facilitators met on 2 occasions virtually to plan the session.All resources required were posted to 7 CYPD who consented to attend. Ground rules for the day were adapted due to it being online keeping in mind online security, clinical governance and children’s safeguarding requirements.A SurveyMonkey feedback on four different scales; enjoyment, feeling listened to, feeling part of the group and whether they would recommend the group to others was developed.Ratings were on a scale of 0–10 where 10 was a high rating of satisfaction. Verbal feedback was also collected on the day.ResultsPre session meetings and planning by the facilitators was required.6 CYPD attended via Microsoft Teams on the day (1 drop out on the day).5 of the 6 CYPD completed SurveyMonkey feedback.Enjoyment (I did/did not like what we did today) Average rating (AR): 9.6Listening (The leaders and others in the group did/did not listen to me) AR: 9.8Being part of the Group (I did/did not feel like part of the group) AR: 9.6Recommend to others (I would/would not recommend this group to other young people who have diabetes) AR: 10All participants verbally shared that they had appreciated meeting other young people who had diabetes, they had been able to talk openly and enjoyed the creative aspect of developing the tree. CYPD appeared to find the text chat option being available as useful and used it freely.Facilitators experienced the session as extremely positiv