| Depression is a common affliction in Hong Kong, and community recognition of the need for treatment is high, but treatment-seeking and actual treatment rates are low, with stigma being a key barrier to help seeking. Support groups are a promising form of treatment for depression, yet research on its effectiveness for adults with depression in Hong Kong is rare.;This study followed clients in a pioneering Hong Kong community-based support network for depression called Dance with Depression, adopting a pre-post and follow-up quasi-experimental mixed design. The mean age of participants was 45.13 years (SD = 12.12). Of the participants, 87.5% were female. The mean duration of illness was 5.25 years (SD = 4.10) and the average number of relapses was 2.0 (SD = 1.73). Participants completed the Chinese Beck Depression Inventory - II (CBDI-II) prior to, six months after and eighteen months after joining the support network. They also completed a measure on perceived beneficial factors of the group, and participated in a structured interview eighteen months after group participation. CBDI-II results indicated that support group participation was associated with statistically significant symptom reduction. Results of the group evaluation questionnaire showed that participants gave their highest ratings to facilitators' caring, support and advice, group members' support, and psychoeducational talks on medication and counseling. Four major themes were identified from the structured interviews: entry narratives, memorable events, key benefits of the groups, and new skills and life lessons. Participants shared disappointment towards local mental health services prior to support group participation, the barrier of stigma about depression, the experience of the group as the turning point in their recovery and a variety of specific benefits related to group participation, highlighting the importance of professional group facilitation. Finally, findings of this study revealed that participants learned skills and life lessons and put into action concrete life changes after group participation. Implications of findings for the promotion of community movements that utilize the present community-based integrated model of support group are discussed.;Keywords: depression, support group, community-based treatment, Chinese, longitudinal, stigma. |
