Hello, Just joining in. I am doing a Level II Fieldwork at an acute inpatient psychiatric unit. The OT staff run most of the groups. We implement Life Skills groups where we talk about Goal Setting, Communication, Mood Management, Self Esteem, and Stress Management as well as an afternoon craft session.  We usually try to give out some simple handouts that are concrete and engaging( i.e. we discuss and have the patients list three community resources that are available to them). Then we try to incorporate some sort of activity. We do use relaxation tapes, and exercise tapes. Music always works- even patiens with psychosis can find some solice in music. People also seem to enjoy bingo.  We play balloon volleyball as well. We line up chairs on each side of a small volleyball net we attach to the wall. Patients have to stay seated, judge how hard to hit the balloon, and work with other teammates. Most of our patients do well with it. We do collages as well.  We use a lot of newspaper, magazine articles about the above topics and shape a group around them.
I hope this helps.