Search results

The purpose of this paper is to provide a “spotlight” on the literature relating the selection, recruitment and development of staff working in personality disorder (PD) services.

The paper reviews key documentation in the field of PD practice in relation to staff.

Despite the publication of guidelines for working with PD clients, a number of large scale enquiries suggest that some services have often failed to absorb and implement the recommendations made which has resulted in serious consequences.

A number of considerations relating to enhancing staff competency when working in PD units are presented.

The review outlines a number of good practice guidelines relating to the different stages of recruitment and employment for staff working with PD clients.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between trust and burnout among mental health professionals working within a forensic psychiatric setting. The association between these factors and boundary violations was also examined.

Mental health professionals (n=117) completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory and a measure of their trust in co-workers. A series of 12 vignettes was also designed to assess the frequency and impact of boundary violations by clients.

Propensity to trust was found to be predictive of personal accomplishment. A higher propensity to trust others was associated with lower levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. It was also associated with greater cooperative behaviour. Higher frequency of boundary violations reported by professionals was associated with lower levels of perceived trust and cooperative behaviours among colleagues, and increased depersonalisation. In addition, professionals reporting more of a perceived impact of boundary violations, reported higher emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. The results also indicate that younger professionals reported higher levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, whereas older professionals were more positive regarding their competence and sense of accomplishment.

The results are discussed in terms of the development of trust within teams as an effective strategy to reduce the development of burnout. Implications are made for the importance of reflective practice and clinical supervision in developing positive working relationships with clients, and providing a safe environment to discuss professional conflict. The importance of supporting younger professionals has also been highlighted.

This is the first research paper to explore the relationship between trust within teams and the development of burnout within forensic psychiatric services.

Adopting a person-environment (P-E) fit approach, the purpose of this paper is to examine the role of emotional labour, segmentation/integration and social support in the development of work-home conflict.

Mental health professionals (n=118) completed the work-home conflict and home-work conflict scales (Netemeyer et al., 1996), the segmentation preferences and supplies scales (Kreiner, 2006) and the Mann Emotion Requirements Inventory (Mann, 1999). A social support checklist was also developed to assess the perceived value of work and non-work sources of support.

Contrary to expectation, emotional labour was associated with lower levels of work-home conflict. There was no evidence found for the relevance of a P-E fit approach, rather the results indicated that the perception that the organisation supports the separation of work and home is sufficient in ameliorating work-home conflict. In addition, work-based support was found to reduce work-home conflict.

The importance of support within the work environment as a way of reducing work-home conflict has been highlighted. That is, providing a safe environment to discuss anxieties and concerns is a fundamental factor when developing organisational support structure. The importance of providing professionals with choice regarding their preference to segment or integrate work and home has also been highlighted. Based on the contradictory findings with regards to emotional labour and work-home conflict, future research should aim to further examine this relationship within a forensic psychiatric setting.

This is the first research paper to explore the role of emotional labour, segmentation/integration and social support in the development of work-home conflict.