Impact on staff attitudes of brief personality disorder training for acute psychiatric wards

Abstract

Purpose Negative attitudes towards “personality disorder” are common among mental health professionals. This study aims to design a psychoeducational training targeting attitudes to “personality disorder” for staff working in a London psychiatric hospital. Its impact on staff attitudes was evaluated. Design/methodology/approach Mental health clinicians were recruited from five acute psychiatric wards. Feasibility of implementing the training was measured. A free-association exercise explored baseline attitudes to “personality disorder” and visual analogue scales assessed staff attitudes pre- and post-training. Content analysis of staff feedback was carried out. Findings Psychoeducational training was found to be feasible, well-attended and highly valued by ward staff (N = 47). Baseline results revealed negative perceptions of “personality disorder”. Post-training, significant improvements in understanding, levels of compassion and attitudes to working with service users with a diagnosis of a “personality disorder” were observed. Staff feedback highlighted desire for further training and support. Research limitations/implications The sample size was relatively small and there was no control group, so findings should be interpreted with caution. Practical implications The findings highlight the need for support for staff working with service users with diagnoses of “personality disorder” on acute psychiatric wards. Providing regular training with interactive components may promote training as a resource for staff well-being. Planning to ensure service users’ and carers’ views are incorporated into the design of future training will be important. Originality/value This study is innovative in that it investigates the impact of a brief psychoeducational training on “personality disorder” designed for mental health staff on acute psychiatric wards.

Psychiatric Ward Staff Experience of Working with Patients Who Hear Voices and Their Views on Voice Simulation Training: a Qualitative Study

“…These staff perspectives impact negatively on quality of care as staff are unsure about how to respond to voice hearers, worrying they may do the wrong thing and worsen symptoms (Coffey & Hewitt 2008;Kramarz et al 2021). Limited resources increase difficulties managing risk which is consistent with previous studies that highlighted staff anxieties about risk management without restrictive measures (Muir-Cochrane et al 2018), indicating that staff need more knowledge and skills to provide this support (Turkington et al 2016;McDonald et al 2021;Riches et al 2021). Staff anxieties about their skills in risk-management techniques might be exacerbated by the limited evidence in support of these techniques (Hayward 2018).…”