A qualitative exploration of service users\u2019 and staff members\u2019 perspectives on the roles of inpatient settings in mental health recovery

Clara De Ruysscher,Stijn Vandevelde,Peter Tomlinson,Stijn Vanheule

doi:10.1186/s13033-020-00347-w

Clara De Ruysscher, Stijn Vandevelde + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-020-00347-w

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Abstract

BackgroundToday, international mental health care increasingly focuses on creating recovery-oriented systems of support. This study aims to unravel the daily practice of an inpatient psychiatric ward that engages with persons with complex mental health needs.Methods17 in-depth interviews were conducted with patients and staff of the ward. Data was analyzed by means of thematic analysis.ResultsThree important functions of the ward were identified in the participants’ experiences. First, it functions as an asylum, a safe environment where patients can ‘simply be’. Second, the ward is experienced as a particularizing space, as support is organized in an individualized way and patients are encouraged to reconnect with their own identity. Third, the ward functions as a transitional space towards a valuable community life, in which finding adequate housing is of central importance.ConclusionsThe results show that inpatient forms of support tally with personal and social dimensions of recovery and fulfill important roles in recovery-oriented systems of support.

Highlights

Today, international mental health care increasingly focuses on creating recovery-oriented systems of support
Especially over the last two decades, policy makers and practitioners have increasingly adopted the concept of recovery as a guiding principle, that is generally understood as a personal journey towards a meaningful community life, even with limitations caused by mental health problems [3,4,5,6]
There remains a substantial group of persons with complex and long-term mental health needs for whom more lengthy and intensive admissions to psychiatric hospitals continue to be a necessary part of their recovery journey [18, 19]

Summary

Introduction

International mental health care increasingly focuses on creating recovery-oriented systems of support. There remains a substantial group of persons with complex and long-term mental health needs for whom more lengthy and intensive admissions to psychiatric hospitals continue to be a necessary part of their recovery journey [18, 19]. Whilst this is a heterogeneous group, the complexity of their support needs can often be situated at the intersection of the mental health problems they face and multiple other problems such as homelessness, substance abuse, poor physical health, poverty and judicial problems, often leading to experiences of exclusion, long treatment trajectories and social isolation [20, 21]. Admissions to psychiatric wards play a significant role in their recovery process, most of the scientific evidence on recovery-oriented practice has been developed in organizations that are located outside the hospital walls (e.g. community-based initiatives, outreaching support and case management) [4]

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