scholarly journals Students, inclusion, help-seeking and compassionate caring

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Holttum
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Compassion Fatigue ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Nurse Education ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Mental Health Workers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Early Career Psychologists

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on students, trainee nurses, early career psychologists, and other mental health professionals and their response to mental distress or the stresses of working in mental health. Design/methodology/approach – Three journal articles are summarised. The first highlights mental distress in university students and their reluctance to seek counselling. The second paper focuses on addressing the impact that the work of mental health workers can have on them and how this can jeopardise compassionate care. The third paper presents a model of inclusive and caring nurse education. Findings – University students may be more likely to seek counselling for mental distress if they have information about its usefulness and it is normalised rather than stigmatised. Mental health workers including early-career psychologists need to know about “compassion fatigue” and “compassion satisfaction” and need safe places to reflect on the personal impact of hearing about their clients’ traumatic experiences. A whole-organisation model of nurse education that emphasises belonging and inclusiveness may increase nurse retention and nurses’ personal resilience. Originality/value – The paper on students’ help-seeking is the first meta-analysis of several studies on this topic (involving similar variables and measures) in several years. The paper on mental health workers and compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction is rare in looking at this across different professions in one setting. It highlights important ways of maintaining workers’ ability to deliver compassionate care. The model of nurse education is based on recent research evidence and may help increase retention and foster reflection, self-awareness, and resilience in nurses.

Exploring the experiences of trainee mental health workers: moving from theory to practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 137-147
Author(s):  
Charlotte Kirton ◽  
Nicky Lambert ◽  
Helen Matheson ◽  
Sandra Connell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Care Service ◽  
Health Care Service ◽  
Mental Health Workers ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Type ◽  
Professional Registration

Purpose The Trainee Mental Health Worker (TMHW) Programme is an initiative developed collaboratively between Middlesex University and local NHS Mental Health Trusts in response to national workforce requirements for flexible clinical personnel. The purpose of this paper is to explore the experience of this new category of mental health workers and to address the feedback given by previous cohorts of TMHWs. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study comprised of three focus groups who met over their year-long training. In total, 20 participants self-selected from a population of 60 TMHWs, and their expectations of the TMHW role prior to starting the programme and following each of two practice placements were explored. Findings The thematic analysis identified five domains: identity, career strategy, functioning in the system, status and responsibility; the TMHWs demonstrated notable changes in their attitude and behaviour as they progressed. The findings demonstrate the challenges of integrating a new type of workforce into the rigid systems of the health care service. Research limitations/implications Focus groups by their nature are not always representative, and this programme is limited in its number of students. Practical implications This study has led to a greater understanding of the experiences of trainees across a variety of clinical settings. Social implications The results from this study will assist employing trusts in recruitment and retention by helping them to understand this phenomenon and the role itself. Originality/value This study’s value lies in the insight it offers into the experience of a new kind of worker moving from novice status to practitioner outside the constraint of a professional registration.

Mental health workers’ values and their congruency with recovery principles

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bianca A. Glajz ◽  
Frank P. Deane ◽  
Virginia Williams
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Work Values ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Meaningful Work ◽  
Mental Health Workers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Recovery Orientation ◽  
Making A Difference

Purpose Recovery in mental health emphasises the empowerment of clients to discover and develop hope and a more satisfying life often in the presence of ongoing symptoms of mental illness. Work values that are incompatible with values that underpin the recovery philosophy may be contributing to the challenges in implementing recovery values in practice. The purpose of this paper is to explore the types of work values espoused by Australian mental health workers and their degree of congruence with recovery values. Design/methodology/approach In total, 65 Australian mental health workers completed an open-ended work values question. Leximancer content analysis was used to generate a thematic work values profile followed by a theory-led thematic analysis of the responses to assess congruence with recovery values. Findings This sample valued client-centred practice that supports recovery, making a difference in others’ lives, work competence, being caring and empathic, and meaningful work. Overall, there was substantial congruence between work and recovery values, with less evidence of endorsement of values relating to strengths-based approaches, personal responsibility, and positive self-identity. These values should be targeted in future training initiatives. Originality/value The current study is the first study to identify the types of work values espoused by Australian mental health workers and to examine the degree to which they are recovery-consistent. This is an important research agenda given the high national and international priority to adopt a recovery orientation, and the need to identify and modify potential barriers to the implementation of recovery-oriented services.

The Effectiveness of Guided Imagery in Treating Compassion Fatigue and Anxiety of Mental Health Workers

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly A Kiley ◽  
Ashwini R Sehgal ◽  
Susan Neth ◽  
Jacqueline Dolata ◽  
Earl Pike ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Compassion Fatigue ◽  
Guided Imagery ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Mental Health Workers

Reducing Burnout Among Mental Health Workers

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Geurts ◽  
W. Schaufeli ◽  
J De Jonge
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Mental Health Workers

Fostering Resilience in Response to Terrorism Among Mental Health Workers

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen W. Saakvitne ◽  
◽  
B. Hudnall Stamm ◽  
Laura Barbanel
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Mental Health Workers

Now they’re listening: involvement in clinical psychology training

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-29
Author(s):  
Laura Lea ◽  
Sue Holttum ◽  
Victoria Butters ◽  
Diana Byrne ◽  
Helen Cable ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Clinical Psychology ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Service User ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Psychology Training ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Clinical Psychology Training ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThe 2014/2015 UK requirement for involvement of service users and carers in training mental health professionals has prompted the authors to review the work of involvement in clinical psychology training in the university programme. Have the voices of service users and carers been heard? The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachThe authors update the paper of 2011 in which the authors described the challenges of inclusion and the specific approaches the authors take to involvement. The authors do this in the context of the recent change to UK standards for service user and carer involvement, and recent developments in relation to partnership working and co-production in mental healthcare. The authors describe the work carried out by the authors – members of a service user involvement group at a UK university – to ensure the voices of people affected by mental health difficulties are included in all aspects of training.FindingsCareful work and the need for dedicated time is required to enable inclusive, effective and comprehensive participation in a mental health training programme. It is apparent that there is a group of service users whose voice is less heard: those who are training to be mental health workers.Social implicationsFor some people, involvement has increased. Trainee mental health professionals’ own experience of distress may need more recognition and valuing.Originality/valueThe authors are in a unique position to review a service-user-led project, which has run for 12 years, whose aim has been to embed involvement in training. The authors can identify both achievements and challenges.

scholarly journals Tired, Worried and Burned Out, but Still Resilient: A Cross-Sectional Study of Mental Health Workers in the UK during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 4457
Author(s):  
Sofia Pappa ◽  
Joshua Barnett ◽  
Ines Berges ◽  
Nikolaos Sakkas
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Emotional Exhaustion ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Sleep Problems ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Mental Health Workers ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional

The burden of the COVID-19 pandemic on health systems and the physical and mental health of healthcare workers (HCWs) has been substantial. This cross-sectional study aims to assess the effects of COVID-19 on the psychological wellbeing of mental health workers who provide care to a vulnerable patient population that have been particularly affected during this crisis. A total of 387 HCWs from across a large urban mental health service completed a self-administered questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic, lifestyle and work-based information and validated psychometric scales. Depression and anxiety were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), respectively; sleep problems with the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS); burnout with the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI); and resilience with the Resilience Scale-14 (RS-14). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to determine potential mediating factors. Prevalence of burnout was notable, with 52% recording moderate/severe in Emotional Exhaustion, 19.5% moderate/severe in Depersonalisation, and 55.5% low/moderate Personal Accomplishment. Over half of all respondents (52%) experienced sleep problems; the presence of depressive symptoms was a significant predictor of insomnia. An increase in potentially harmful lifestyle changes, such as smoking, alcohol consumption and overeating was also observed. However, high Resilience was reported by 70% of the samples and the importance of this is highlighted. Female gender was associated with increased levels of depression and emotional exhaustion while those with a history of mental health conditions were most at risk of affective symptoms, insomnia, and burnout. Overall, our study revealed considerable levels of psychological distress and maladaptive coping strategies but also resilience and satisfaction with organizational support provided. Findings can inform tailored interventions in order to mitigate vulnerability and prevent long-term psychological sequelae.

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