Police officers who work with victims of rape and sexual assault are exposed to severely traumatic material. This study aimed to investigate whether these specialist officers had developed compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress and burnout, and whether these variables were associated with trait and situational empathy, an important factor in retaining victim involvement within the prosecution process. The study also piloted a brief training intervention aimed at educating officers about compassion fatigue and ways of reducing and preventing it. A convenience sample of specialist police officers (N = 142) who work with victims of sexual assault completed measures of compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress and burnout, as well as two empathy measures, rating trait empathy and 'in vivo' empathy in response to a video vignette. Cross-sectional analysis showed that longer-serving specialist officers had greater compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress and burnout, but that neither measure of empathy was related to compassion fatigue or secondary traumatic stress, although high burnout was related to low trait empathy. The training was well received, and pre and post-test measures showed that officers' knowledge of the constructs increased. Given the potential risks to their well-being and work performance, officers would benefit from further support to cope with and prevent emotional distress. Higher empathy might protect against burnout. Longitudinal research is needed to better understand the relationships between empathy, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress and burnout.

A cognitively informed group approach to targeting the less adaptive illness beliefs reported by FEP carers may offer an effective and acceptable pathway to facilitate their understanding of the illness and adjustment. Further studies using controlled designs are required.

Background Refugees and asylum seekers often report having experienced numerous complex traumas. It is important to understand the prevalence of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), which can follow complex traumas. Aims This systematic review aims to summarise the available literature reporting the prevalence in refugees and asylum seekers of three operationalised definitions of CPTSD: the ICD-11 diagnostic criteria, the ICD-10 criteria (for enduring personality change after catastrophic experience) and the DSM-IV criteria (for disorders of extreme stress not otherwise specified). Method Six electronic databases were searched for studies reporting the prevalence of CPTSD in adult refugee and/or asylum-seeking samples. Owing to heterogeneity between the studies, a narrative synthesis approach was used to summarise studies. Methodological quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Critical Appraisal Checklist for Prevalence Studies. This systematic review has been registered with PROSPERO (registration number CRD42020188422, https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=188422). Results Systematic searches identified 15 eligible studies, with 10 examining treatment-seeking samples and five using population samples. CPTSD prevalence in treatment-seeking samples was between 16 and 38%. Prevalence in population samples ranged from 2.2 to 9.3% in four studies, with the fifth reporting a much higher estimate (50.9%). Conclusions This review highlights both the high prevalence of CPTSD in treatment samples and the lack of research aiming to establish prevalence of CPTSD in refugee and asylum-seeking populations. Understanding the prevalence of these disabling disorders has implications for policy and healthcare services for the appropriate promotion, planning and provision of suitable treatment and interventions for this highly traumatised population.

Objectives: Research has demonstrated that psychological therapies are not routinely delivered in acute mental health inpatient settings despite being recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. This study aimed to identify the barriers and facilitators to implementing psychological therapies in acute mental health inpatient settings.Methods: A systematic review and narrative synthesis was undertaken. Primary studies were included if they examined the implementation of a NICE recommended psychological therapy in acute psychiatric inpatient settings and were of any study design. Four databases were searched for eligible studies (MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus, PsycINFO and Embase) and Google Scholar.Results: A total of 16 studies (a mixture of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies) were included in the review, and the majority evaluated the implementation of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Overall, the literature was deemed to be of poor to moderate quality. The main barriers to the implementation of psychological therapy were the busy nature of the ward, multi-disciplinary professionals not being suitability trained and the acute nature of service users mental health difficulties. Facilitators to implementation included the adaptation of interventions to be specifically delivered in the acute inpatient setting, training of multi-disciplinary professionals, leadership support with the delivery of psychological therapies and prioritising the therapeutic relationship.Conclusions: There is a requirement for senior management to prioritise the implementation of psychological therapies and update clinical guidelines to describe modifications necessary to implement psychological therapies in acute inpatient settings.Future research should improve their methodological quality and continue to develop the evidence base of brief psychological therapies in acute inpatient settings.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has had a well-documented negative impact on the mental health and wellbeing of frontline healthcare workers (HCWs). Whilst no research has to date been carried out to explore the challenges experienced by the families of HCWs, some previous research has been conducted with military families, demonstrating that family members of deployed military personnel may also be affected seriously and negatively. Objectives This study aimed to explore the experiences, views, and mental health impact on frontline HCWs’ families during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK and what support the families of frontline HCWs may need. Method Close family members and friends of HCWs were interviewed. Transcripts were analysed in line with the principles of reflexive thematic analysis. Results We completed fourteen interviews with three siblings, one mother, one friend, and nine spouses of HCWs. Family members were highly motivated to support healthcare workers and felt an intense sense of pride in their work. However, they also experienced increased domestic responsibilities and emotional burden due to anxiety about their loved ones’ work. The fact that sacrifices made by family members were not noticed by society, the anxiety they felt about their family’s physical health, the impact of hearing about traumatic experiences, and the failure of healthcare organisations to meet the needs of the HCWs all negatively affected the family members. Conclusions We have an ethical responsibility to attend to the experiences and needs of the families of healthcare professionals. This study emphasises the experiences and needs of family members of healthcare professionals, which have hitherto been missing from the literature. Further research is needed to hear from more parents, siblings and friends, partners in same sex relationships, as well as children of HCWs, to explore the variety of family members and supporters’ experiences more fully. HIGHLIGHTS • COVID19 has impacted families of HCWs as well as workers themselves. They have experienced more anxiety, increased practical burden, significant physical health risks and been exposed vicariously to workers’ traumatic experiences. We must ensure HCW families are better supported