Brief Report: A Policy Delphi Study of Expectations on Resource Groups in Autism Mental Healthcare

Background: There is a growing emphasis on what autistic individuals need to flourish. A similar trend is observed in general mental health services through personal recovery approaches, which aim for a meaningful life and increasing well-being rather than merely a remission of symptoms of psychological conditions. One practical application of this recovery-focused approach is the Resource Group (RG) method, which emphasizes empowerment with a focus on client chosen goals, integrated care, and involving close persons. The RG method has been shown to increase quality of life and empowerment in clients of not-autism specific mental healthcare settings and can potentially improve mental healthcare services which are currently insufficiently tailored to the needs of autistic people. Stakeholder views regarding this method need to be determined before implementation. This brief report aimed to investigate expectations regarding potential effects and barriers for implementation from the perspectives of autistic clients, healthcare professionals, and network members of clients. Methods: Autistic clients (n = 9), network members chosen by the clients (n = 7), and mental healthcare professionals (n = 10), participated in three separate policy Delphi procedures, which aimed to identify and elaborate on the various perspectives on RGs. Results: Expected benefits and barriers differed between stakeholder groups, with healthcare professionals anticipating most benefits compared to autistic clients and network members. Most expected benefits were increased interprofessional coordination, and increased client empowerment, although the latter was not strongly expected by clients. Barriers that were most expected were related to the long-term continuation of the RG, difficulties in scheduling RG meetings and the energy- and time demands. Conclusion: The results highlight which aspects of the RG methodology need to be adjusted to make it feasible and beneficial for autistic individuals in mental health settings before testing its efficacy.