Table 3 Advantages and disadvantages of meeting face-to-face and of meeting via audio-conferencing

Face-to-face

Face-to-face

F2F meetings are physically ‘time away’ from their brother or sister for siblings; siblings are the focus of attention (S¹, P²)

Depending on when the group is scheduled to take place, siblings might need to take time out of school, and parents might need to take time off work, particularly if having to travel a long distance (S¹, P²)

Allows full sociability including spontaneous social exchange such as spontaneous social gestures, sharing (such as sharing snacks or passing things to one another when taking part in activities) (F³, S¹)

There is a need for parents to organise care for the affected brother/sister and perhaps for other siblings at home (P²)

Facilitators/therapists are therapeutically attending to the ‘whole person’ as opposed to what can be ascertained by voice only (F³)

It requires change in the routine in families where there is a need to manage high levels of stress in circumstances where maintaining a routine is important (F³)

Siblings had the opportunity to socially ‘lean’ towards or socially link with other members in the group with whom they have more affinity (S¹)

Audio-conferencing

Audio-conferencing

AC can be advantageous as a less physically confrontational option of meeting with other siblings than a F2F meeting (F³)

There is reliance on communication being voice-led (F³)

Overcomes the barrier of geographical distance (F³, P²)

There is the potential for technical problems such as accidental ‘cutting off’, or poor quality of sound (S¹, P², F³)

There is no need to travel (F³, P²)

There is the strict need for one person talking at a time, even in unstructured group ‘chat-time’ (F³)

There are no transport costs (F³, P²)

There are no visual cues as to the meaning of what is not being said or what silences mean (F³)

Allows there to be a focus on information-exchange (F³)

Participants do not have access to all the means of getting across what they mean to ‘say’ (S¹, F³)

Siblings can access therapeutic assistance in the privacy and comfort of their own home and might therefore feel more at ease and relaxed than they do when they are in an unfamiliar setting (F³)

There is the potential for misunderstanding due to the lack of non-verbal communication and the potential to overlook the need to ensure clarification if it occurs (F³)

Participants have no opportunity to communicate with other participants without it being ‘exposed’ to the whole group (S¹)