Aim: To investigate feasibility and acceptability of positive psychotherapy for acute psychiatric ward patients and staff, when delivered by non-psychology clinical staff, and co-produced with staff with lived experience.Method: Group or individual strengths-based positive sychotherapy was led by an activity coordinator and co-facilitated by a peer support worker with lived experience of mental health problems. It was delivered for acute ward patientsand staff. Feasibility was measured by completion of session components and percentage of participants able to identify a strength, plan a strength-based activity, and activity completion. Acceptability was measured by comparing preandpost-session mood, and with helpfulness ratings and narrative feedback.Results: Participants (n = 22) included 12 patients and 10 staff members. Participants were mainly female and of white or mixed ethnicity. Most patients had a psychotic disorder. Staff were nurses and healthcare assistants. The most identified strengths were self-regulation, social intelligence and perseverance. Typical activities included activity-scheduling, sleep hygiene, walking, gardening and cooking. High completion rates for components and activities indicated feasibility. Lack of adverse effect on mood, high helpfulness ratings, and positivefeedback indicated acceptability.Conclusion: This evaluation indicates that non-psychology staff can deliver psychological interventions, that interventions can be co-produced with staff with lived experience, and that patient and staff participants can collaborate on these interventions. This shows how psychological interventions on acute wards can be inclusive, positively impact on ward culture, and be more widely delivered to support patients and staff.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.