The lived experience of psychologists working in mental health services: An exhausting and exasperating journey.

Abstract

What are the implications for psychologists working in the public mental health services? Does this environment bring along different challenges when compared to their colleagues working in other settings? How do they cope? Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, this study explored the meaning psychologists give to their work with their clients and also looked at how they experience working in their teams within the context of the mental health services in Malta. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with seven registered psychologists who had worked in the Maltese mental health services for at least two years. Common themes across participants included: client-work as a source of satisfaction and a source of stress; the psychologist in the context of the multidisciplinary team; and focus on the self. The quality of the participants' work experience was found to be shaped by the larger context of their work setting. Participants' negative emotions arising from the system were perceived to be more distressing than those arising from client-work. Issues of powerlessness, lack of control and divergent values were identified as the main modulators of this experience and were seen to contribute to distress and reduced job engagement. Personal coping strategies were used as a means to survive in this demanding work place. Implications and recommendations in relation to working with this client-group and also working within a medical model system are highlighted. Public Significance Statement This study advances knowledge about issues faced by psychologists working in multidisciplinary teams in public mental health settings. Although working in such services was seen to bring satisfaction to psychologists, it also brought about negative distressing emotions which LIVED EXPERIENCE OF PSYCHOLOGISTS IN MENTAL HEALTH 3 seem to be linked more to the system than to the client-work itself. The importance of personal coping strategies emerged as a means of survival.

Healthcare professionals’ perspectives on mental health service provision: a pilot focus group study in six European countries

“…Participants described how collaboration is not a simple process in that it involves working with people within different healthcare and social care systems and services. This is consistent with other studies that attribute collaboration difficulties to divergent values, communication, and efficient and accurate decision-making processes [48]. According to Reeves et al [47], inter-professional care entails teamwork, collaboration, coordination and the development of networks with and across the different levels of care provision.…”

“…The focus group participants championed comprehensive services that include the holistic understanding of peoples' lives and continuity in care. The flexibility in how care is provided, comprehensive services, and forging positive and empowering relationships with people seeking services have also been found to contribute to more effective work in MHS [48]. They discussed the need for MH promotion strategies and for building the capacity of MHS to respond to mental healthcare needs with increased and more purposeful attention to people's unique lives and circumstances (e.g., Norway).…”

Value Conflict, Lack of Rewards, and Sense of Community as Psychosocial Risk Factors of Burnout in Communication Professionals (Press, Radio, and Television)

“…Thus, a high workload can be observed in a work environment and yet, high rates of EE may not occur, as would be expected, since other variables such as control over the task, good personal relations, or an adequate adjustment between own values and those of the company, may protect employees. In such a case, and in order to prevent this, these values must be observed and strengthened because if they were to be weakened, the exhaustion process due to overload could be fast and dramatic [ 9 , 21 ].…”

“…Surveys from the “Areas of Worklife (AWL)” model show that it explains a significant percentage of the burnout variance in differing productive sectors around the world [ 9 , 10 , 21 ], and is considered an optimal instrument to evaluate psychosocial risk factors before designing future interventions.…”

Areas of work-life in Spanish hostelry professionals: explanatory power on burnout dimensions

“…Studies from the AWLS model show that the six areas explain a significant percentage of the burnout variance in working populations from different countries and different economic sectors [23, 24].…”