Exploring service users’ experience of community meetings in a high secure service
| Date | 12 September 2016 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/MHRJ-09-2015-0024 |
| Published date | 12 September 2016 |
| Pages | 200-212 |
| Author | Danielle Mayes,Sarah Victoria Ramsden,Louise Braham,Zoe Whitaker,Mark Norburn |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health |
Exploring service users’experience
of community meetings in a high
secure service
Danielle Mayes, Sarah Victoria Ramsden, Louise Braham, Zoe Whitaker and Mark Norburn
Danielle Mayes is based at the
Department of Clinical
Psychology, University of
Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Sarah Victoria Ramsden is a
Trainee Clinical Psychologist at
the Department of Clinical
Psychology, University of
Lincoln, Lincoln, UK.
Louise Braham is a Consultant
Clinical and Forensic
Psychologist, Responsible and
Approved Clinician at Mental
Health and National Learning
Disability Directorate, Rampton
Hospital, Retford, UK.
Zoe Whitaker is a Clinical
Psychologist at St Andrew’s
Healthcare Nottingham,
Mansfield, UK.
Mark Norburn is an Assistant
Psychologist at Rampton
Hospital, Retford, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to explore service users’experience of community meetings (CMs)
within a high secure setting.
Design/methodology/approach –A qualitative design was employed in which focus groups were used to
capture service users’experience of CMs. In all, 12 focus groups comprising a total of 27 participants were
carried out using a semi-structured interview schedule. Data were analysed using thematic and saliency
analysis, identifying themes which were pertinent to the research aims.
Findings –Positive experiences reported by service users included a safe space to explore ward issues and
develop skills, with some viewing the meeting as a therapeutic forum in which to facilitate personal growth.
Research limitations/implications –There were a wide range of patient presentations and views.
Furthermore, only 20 per cent of the patient population were included within this study.
Practical implications –A number of recommendations have been identified that can have positive
implications for patients (quality of life and recovery), staff (resolving conflicts and problem-solving) and the
overall therapeutic milieu of the ward.
Originality/value –There are no reviews looking at CMs within the last decade. This paper brings the
understanding up to date to allow the development of this potentially positive tool.
Keywords Service-user, Forensic, Community meetings, High-secure
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Large service user-staff meetings, or “community meetings”(CMs), are a long established part of
the ward routine within secure hospitals (Lipgar, 1999). The CM is thought to be a legacy from
the therapeutic communities of the 1950s (Kisch et al., 1981). The original aim of the meetings
was therefore to facilitate an environment that encourages mutual support, interpersonal
interaction and a sense of communalism and shared responsibility for self and others (Roberts
and Smith, 1994).
Whilst the structureof meetings can vary across settings,they broadly involve the comingtogether
of staff and serviceusers to address day-to-day issues affectinglife on the ward (Novakovic et al.,
2010). The meetings are considered to be part of service users’therapeutic activity (Harms and
Benson, 2003) and, as such, contribute to the therapeutic milieu (Lipgar, 1999).
The development of CMs was largely influenced by the works of Jones (1965), Bion (1959) and
Foulkes (1990) during Second World War, each of whom sought to develop ways in which
large groups of individuals with mental illnesses could be treated and cared for (Lipgar, 1999).
Received 2 September 2015
Revised 15 December 2015
22 April 2016
Accepted 19 June 2016
PAGE200
j
MENTALHEALTH REVIEW JOURNAL
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VOL. 21 NO. 3 2016, pp. 200-212, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1361-9322 DOI 10.1108/MHRJ-09-2015-0024
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