Psychological supervision and consultation for nurses in a Learning Disability Forensic Service

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a preliminary evaluation of psychological-based supervision and consultation provided by a clinical psychologist to nursing staff working in a low-secure Learning Disability Forensic Service.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was completed by 22 staff members, to gather information about their experiences of receiving this service and its impact on the motivation, stress and the care they provide for patients within the service.

Findings

The most common reasons for staff to attend were to discuss patient issues (n=10), needing space to reflect (n=10) and wanting to discuss service issues (n=9). Staff found these sessions to be supportive (n=13), useful (n=11), helpful (n=11) and informative (n=11). A majority of staff reported an increase in positive interactions (60 per cent, n=9) and in motivation (60 per cent, n=9) and a reduction in stress (43.7 per cent, n=7). Of staff answering the question 87.5 per cent (n=16) would recommend these sessions to others.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that staff benefitted from having this opportunity to discuss patient and service issues and that this had a positive impact on their role and the care they provide.

Originality/value

Therefore, the paper suggests that by offering psychological supervision and consultation will provide support to nurses working in Learning Disability Forensic Service, increase motivation and reduce stress. These findings could also be used by management in service development, for example to reduce staff sickness and subsequently reduce costs within the service.

Citation

Whitton, C., Collinson, R. and Adams, T. (2013), "Psychological supervision and consultation for nurses in a Learning Disability Forensic Service", Journal of Intellectual Disabilities and Offending Behaviour, Vol. 4 No. 3/4, pp. 90-99. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIDOB-11-2012-0003