Purpose: This study examined therapeutic milieu interventions on self-esteem, socio-occupational functioning, and depressive symptoms among inpatients with depressive disorders.
Methods: A pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group quasi-experimental design was adopted. Sixty participants with depression who got admitted to the general hospital psychiatric ward were assigned to a control (Treatment as Usual) group and an experimental (therapeutic milieu intervention) group nonrandomly using a convenience sampling technique. We evaluated the following outcome measures: self-esteem, socio-occupational functioning, and depressive symptoms for both groups at baseline, 4th, 8th, and 12th weeks.
Results: Therapeutic milieu interventions improved self-esteem, socio-occupational functioning, and reduced depressive symptoms. The findings provided initial evidence for practice.
Implications: Psychiatric nurses can implement simple, milieu therapy interventions in any setting, which will enhance the clinical outcomes and socio-occupational functioning of depressive patients.
Keywords: depression; milieu therapy; self-esteem; socio-occupational functioning.
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