Are there losses as well as gains from individualised inpatient care?

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Personalisation of mental health care is seldom questioned but some aspects of inpatient experience may bring it into question. Mieke Verhaeghe and Piet Bracke investigated the stigma experiences of clients of mental health services in Flanders. One important finding was that more individualised treatment appears to inhibit the formation of a strong peer group and thus the creation of a positive group atmosphere on the ward. This implies that individualised treatment is antithetical to the creation of a good ward atmosphere. The Belgian data confirmed that peer support was associated with positive self-evaluations and less self-rejection, and also those clients with mood-related disorder as compared to schizophrenia, for instance, expressed fewer feelings of shame and inferiority. This presentation will compare hospital inpatients' experiences of stigma and peer support in Belgium and the UK to address questions such as: 'Are there disadvantages to individualisation of treatment?' and 'Is it counterproductive to discourage people from forming relationships with other inpatients while they are in psychiatric hospital care? Methods: The Belgian study was replicated with 70 inpatients in three mental health Trusts in England. Supplementary qualitative data were also collected. Results: Initial findings indicate that peer support mediates the impact of symptom severity on the outcome variables of self-rejection, social rejection, and quality of life. More detailed analyses will be available for the conference. Discussion/Conclusions: Preliminary results resonate strongly both with the Belgian study and with the qualitative data from our interviews, during which participants often spoke about their relationships with other service users on the ward - those relationships often emerging as a defining element of their experience, in both positive and negative ways.