Does talking about work place emotional stresses reduce sickness and improve well-being?

Abstract

BACKGROUND & AIMS Reflective practice meetings are recommended for supporting the well-being of organisations and mental health practitioners but few evaluations have been conducted. This pilot study evaluates the outcome of introducing a forum to discuss the psychological and emotional impact of providing patient care in a high secure hospital setting. METHODS A mixed methods observational study. Participants; A team consisting of art therapists, music therapists, assistants and departmental manager, n=8. Intervention; Reflection on team relationships, re-organisations, organisational culture and the emotional impact of work. Duration; 90 minutes, monthly using a group psychotherapy model. OUTCOME MEASURES & ANALYSIS Sickness records; Comparisons of Pre-treatment and Post-intervention levels of sickness absence. CORE-OM (Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation) at 3, 10 and 15 months post-intervention. Semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis of the experience of reflective practice. RESULTS Statistically significant reductions in sickness absence days (Two sample t test p=0.034) Staff wellbeing improved as the intervention was continued. At interview the participants reported the experience of reflective practice meetings as being beneficial and developing interpersonal learning, especially in improving understanding of others roles, impact of behaviour on others and ability to talk directly rather than letting issues bubble under the surface. CONCLUSIONS/COMMENTS Reflective practice meetings delivered in this way were associated with improvements in staff wellbeing, team relationships and a reduction in sickness absence. The treatment was cost effective in terms of costs saved through reducing staff sickness levels, increased resilience and productivity in terms of adaptation to an increased workload. Success of the initial evaluation led to the expansion and adoption of the model by the wider department encompassing approximately 120 staff.