Psychological supervision and consultation for nurses in a Learning Disability Forensic Service
| Date | 09 September 2013 |
| Pages | 90-99 |
| Published date | 09 September 2013 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JIDOB-11-2012-0003 |
| Author | Clare Whitton,Rachel Collinson,Thomas Adams |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Learning & intellectual disabilities,Offending behaviour |
Psychological supervision and
consultation for nurses in a Learning
Disability Forensic Service
Clare Whitton, Rachel Collinson and Thomas Adams
Dr Clare Whitton is a Highly
Specialist Clinical
Psychologist, based at
Learning Disability Forensic
Service, Tees, Esk and Wear
Valleys NHS Foundation Trust,
Middlesbrough, UK.
Rachel Collinson, who has
a Doctorate in Clinical
Psychology, is a Trainee
Clinical Psychologist at Tees,
Esk and Wear Valleys NHS
Foundation Trust,
Middlesbrough, UK.
Thomas Adams is a Research
Assistant, based at Academic
Psychiatry, Newcastle
University, Newcastle, UK.
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to conduct a preliminary evaluation of psychological-based
supervision and consultation provided by a clinical psychologist to nursing staff working in a low-secure
Learning Disability Forensic Service.
Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was completed by 22 staff members, to gather
information about their experiences of receiving this service and its impact on the motivation, stress and the
care they provide for patients within the service.
Findings – The most common reasons for staff to attend were to discuss patient issues (n¼10), needing
space to reflect (n ¼10) and wanting to discuss service issues (n ¼9). Staff found these sessions to be
supportive (n ¼13), useful (n ¼11), helpful (n ¼11) and informative (n ¼11). A majority of staff reported an
increase in positive interactions (60 per cent, n ¼9) and in motivation (60 per cent, n ¼9) and a reduction in
stress (43.7 per cent, n¼7). Of staff answering the question 87.5 per cent (n ¼16) would recommend these
sessions to others.
Practical implications – The findings suggest that staff benefitted from having this opportunity to discuss
patient and service issues and that this had a positive impact on their role and the care they provide.
Originality/value – Therefore, the paper suggests that by offering psychological supervision and
consultation will provide support to nurses working in Learning Disability Forensic Service, increase
motivation and reduce stress. These findings could also be used by management in service development,
for example to reduce staff sickness and subsequently reduce costs within the service.
Keywords Motivation, Psychology, Stress, Consultation, Nursing, Supervision
Paper type Technical paper
Introduction
Literature review
Stress and burnout. Research indicates that for those working in caring professionals; stress
is more prevalent (Coffey, 1999). Working within forensic-based services has unsurprisingly
been linked to nursing staff being faced with a greater risk of violence and aggression, and
subsequently stress and burnout, than those working in other areas of nursing (Mason, 2002;
Severinsson and Kamaker, 1999). Similarly those working in learning disability services can be
faced with highly disturbed and agitated individuals (Keyes, 1996). Staff who work within
learning disabilities services also report challenging client behaviour as one of the main work
stressors they face (Skirrow and Hatton, 2007). Figures suggests that stress-based absences
are costing individual NHS trusts approximately £450,000 (Wright, 2005). Also, previous
research has found that the most common reason for long-term sick leave is depression,
associated with exhaustion and burnout (Hare et al., 1988). Therefore, it is likely that for those
nursing staff who work in Learning Disability Forensic Services, they will face risky and
challenging behaviour and this may subsequently result in stress.
The authors would like to thank all
the staff who attended the sessions
and took part in the evaluation.
PAGE 90
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JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AND OFFENDING BEHAVIOUR
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VOL. 4 NO. 3/4 2013, pp. 90-99, CEmerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2050 -8824 DOI 10.1108/JIDOB-11-2012-0003
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