Working with the chaos in an adult inpatient mental health setting: the role of an integrated therapies team

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to outline a process-oriented psychology informed view of the impact of ever-increasing acuity within an adult inpatient system and conceptualise how an integrated therapies team (ITT) can work with the chaos that this brings.Design/methodology/approachA reflective scientist-practitioner based approach was used over a two-year period.FindingsSeveral factors lead to “chaos” in an inpatient unit, including societal inequality, the trauma and adversity it creates and the impact of this at a systemic, interpersonal and intrapersonal level. Chaos is one means of coping and can dominate inpatient working, whereas understanding the underlying distress is often marginalised. Developing an ITT can support working with chaos. The ITT holds the therapeutic perspective for the wider multi-disciplinary team (MDT) and therapeutic and facilitation skills are central to how it operates. Processing the chaos and working with the underlying distress is its overarching function.Practical implicationsDeveloping an ITT offers a robust structure for evolving inpatient MDT working to cope with increasing acuity in a psychologically informed way.Social implicationsThe chaos in question is often viewed as patients’ issue but from a collectivist perspective it is something that all members of society are responsible for.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to conceptualise the chaos on an inpatient ward as a process needed by the system as a way of coping and propose the addition of an ITT to inpatient working.