Creating and establishing a recovery-oriented clinical psychology provision across an acute care mental health pathway. Ethical obligation and clinical reality
| Date | 06 May 2014 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-03-2014-0011 |
| Published date | 06 May 2014 |
| Pages | 98-104 |
| Author | Pawel D. Mankiewicz,Johan Truter |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Social inclusion |
Creating and establishing a
recovery-oriented clinical psychology
provision across an acute care
mental health pathway. Ethical
obligation and clinical reality
Pawel D. Mankiewicz and Johan Truter
Dr Pawel D. Mankiewicz is
a Highly Specialist Clinical
Psychologist, based at Central
Bedfordshire and Luton Acute
Mental Health Unit and South
Bedfordshire Assertive
Outreach Team, South Essex
Partnership University NHS
Foundation Trust,
Dunstable, UK.
Johan Truter is a Principal
Clinical Psychologist, based
at North Cambridgeshire
Rehabilitation and Recovery
Team, Cambridgeshire and
Peterborough NHS Foundation
Trust, Huntington, UK.
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to summarise the development of a recovery-oriented and
socially inclusive acute care clinical psychology service in one of the NHS Trusts based in East Anglia.
It demonstrates the service’s compliance with relevant national policies and guidelines, and addresses
some of the criticisms directed at acute mental health care in recent years. Both achievements and
difficulties are reflected on.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs an organisational development case example
related to applicable clinical practice model, based on national guidelines and policies, in order to
demonstrate that it is possible to develop and implement a recovery-oriented clinical psychology practice
in acute inpatient mental health care. This is based on the authors, experiences as a public sector clinical
psychologists specialising in complex, severe, and enduring mental health needs.
Findings – Clinical psychologists may effectively contribute to the development of psychosocially informed
and recovery-based multidisciplinary attitudes towards emotional difficulties of individuals admitted to
psychiatric wards.
Research limitations/implications – Future service development project of similar nature ought to
implement standardised measures (e.g. ward atmosphere scales) to increase validity of findings.
Practical implications – Despite limited, and continuously decreasing, resources in the NHS it appears
possible to develop and establish a successful and objectively replicable provision of recovery-based
psychological services across an entire acute care mental health pathway.
Social implications – Recovery-enhancing clinical psychology interventions should not be limited to those
receiving care from community-based services only. Building psychologically informed understanding of
mental health needs should be employed on inpatient wards too, in order to counterbalance the dominating
biomedical models of mental illness.
Originality\value – Dissemination of examples of effective psychosocial practice in acute mental health
settings appears largely underrepresented.
Keywords Recovery, Clinical psychology, Acute mental health care, Psychological mindedness,
Psychosocial models of mental health care
Paper type Case study
Non-recovery-oriented inpatient mental health care
The delivery of inpatient psychiatric care and the speculatively obedient role of acute care
clinical psychology have recently attracted numerous criticisms on the pages of professional
The authors would like to express
their gratitude to Mrs Nicky
Rattigan, Consultant Clinical
Psychologist, for the professional
and emotional support in the
development of the acute clinical
psychology service.
PAGE 98
j
MENTAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL INCLUSION
j
VOL. 18 NO. 2 2014, pp. 98-104, CEmerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2042-8308 DOI 10.1108/MHSI-03-2014-0011
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