Acute mental health nurses: comprehensive practitioners or specialist therapists?

Abstract

This paper examines the aids and barriers to implementing the psychosocial interventions (PSI) which trainees learned on two teaching modules. The main purpose of the modules is to teach trainees PSI to help them be more effective in their care of patients with severe mental illness. The trainees were qualified nurses working in acute mental health wards in various London hospitals. PSI has been found to be helpful for patients with psychotic symptoms in community contexts. In this study, the implementation of PSI specific to acute inpatient mental health settings is explored. This was achieved by conducting semi-structured audiotaped interviews with all 20 trainees from a single cohort. The data were analysed by categories and themes to elicit not only the problems but also helpful strategies which can be used when working with PSI in acute inpatient mental health settings. The paper concludes by offering recommendations for future good practice for this area of mental health service.