Background: Balint groups are crucial in Psychosomatic Medicine, focusing on healthcare relationships and providing psychotherapeutic training.Objective: To explore healthcare professionals' perceptions of Balint groups in Santiago de Cuba's Basic Psychosomatic Course, identifying perceived benefits and training needs.Methods: Cross-sectional survey of 34 healthcare professionals who completed Balint training (2018-2020), categorized by specialty (Natural/Traditional Medicine, Psychiatry, Others).The Spanish-translated Rckmeldung Balintgruppe questionnaire assessed learning effects, group dynamics, and practical applicability using ten Likert items and one open-ended question.Results: Participants provided positive evaluations (1-2 on 6-point scale, 1=best). Group atmosphere, leadership competence, and continuation interest received highest ratings.Kruskal-Wallis test showed significant differences in perceived work impact among groups (p = .046),though post-hoc comparisons showed not pairwise differences.Competent leadership correlated with satisfaction (r = -.400,p = .019).Qualitative analysis revealed needs for additional resources (44%) and training (38%).Conclusions: Balint groups demonstrated high acceptability among Cuban healthcare professionals.Findings suggest they're promising tools for professional development in Cuba's healthcare context, requiring culturally adapted resources and ongoing supervision for implementation.
Timmermann et al. (Mon,) studied this question.