Griffin, B., Johnson, J., Vogt, K. et al. (3 more authors) (Accepted: 2025) Exploring how the psychological safety of patients is impacted by restrictive practices in inpatient mental healthcare: A qualitative study with former patients in the UK. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. ISSN: 1445-8330 (In Press)
Abstract
Restrictive practices are used to contain risk and maintain physical safety on inpatient mental health wards but have shown to negatively impact patient wellbeing and trust. Researchers and professionals have suggested that inpatient mental healthcare focuses on physical safety at the expense of psychological safety. The relationship between restrictive practices and psychological safety has not yet been explored. This study aimed to explore the impacts of receiving, and witnessing, restrictive practices on psychological safety, to understand what could be done to make restrictive practices psychologically safe. Eighteen semi-structured interviews were carried out with former patients (aged 20-60 years) who have been discharged for longer than 6 months from adult inpatient mental healthcare in the UK. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes were generated: 1) Reactive over proactive care: seeing the behaviour and not exploring the reason, 2) A chaotic environment cannot provide safety for patients and staff, 3) Psychological impact of the (perceived) power imbalance between staff and patients and 4) Emotionally all in it together, for better or worse. The results support that physical risk is heightened in inpatient settings but containing this should not come at the expense of psychological safety. Supportive communication and giving small acts of control to patients should be prioritised to enhance the psychological safety of patients.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | This is an author produced version of an article accepted for publication in International Journal of Mental Health Nursing (IJMHN), made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | patient safety, mental health, inpatient, restrictive practice, coercion |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Psychology (Leeds) |
Date Deposited: | 30 Sep 2025 08:08 |
Last Modified: | 30 Sep 2025 08:38 |
Status: | In Press |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:232186 |