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Chapter 17 - Psychologically Informed Organisations and Services

from Beyond 1:1 Therapy: Working Psychodynamically with Clinicians, Teams, and Organisations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 August 2023

Adam Polnay ,
Rhiannon Pugh ,
Victoria Barker ,
David Bell ,
Allan Beveridge ,
Adam Burley ,
Allyson Lumsden ,
C. Susan Mizen  and
Lauren Wilson
Foreword by
Nancy McWilliams
Adam Polnay
Affiliation:
The State Hospital, Carstairs and Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh
Victoria Barker
Affiliation:
East London NHS Foundation Trust, London
David Bell
Affiliation:
British Psychoanalytic Society
Allan Beveridge
Affiliation:
Royal College of Psychiatrists, London
Adam Burley
Affiliation:
Rivers Centre, Edinburgh
Allyson Lumsden
Affiliation:
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
C. Susan Mizen
Affiliation:
Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, Exeter
Lauren Wilson
Affiliation:
Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh
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Summary

A psychologically informed service is one where the design, practice, and principles of the service are informed by the best understandings of the psychological and emotional needs of people who the service is intended for, with particular consideration to those who struggle to use the service in an uncomplicated way. The need for the concept of a ‘psychologically informed’ service arises because a proportion of people have psychological and emotional needs that may not be appropriately catered for within standard health and social care designs. Care-seeking is one of the most primitive and early relational dynamics we engage in. Experiences described as developmental trauma, neglect, and other mistreatment occur in relationships, often within relationships that are expected to provide safety, security, and comfort. One of the longest legacies of early relational adversity may be a loss of trust in others, which can subsequently give rise to complicated relationships with caring figures. Making a service psychologically informed can be understood as a necessary provision for those who have the highest levels of psychological need. We look at several themes to do with developing psychologically informed services: reflective practice, language used by staff, beginnings and endings of contact, time, ambivalence, and treatment.

Keywords

psychologically informedambivalencereflective practiceexclusioninclusion healthaccess to servicesservice design
Type
Chapter
Information
Cambridge Guide to Psychodynamic Psychotherapy , pp. 258 - 268
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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