Ellen Meijer1, Gert Schout1, Gideon de Jong2, Tineke Abma1. 1. Department of Medical Humanities, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 2. School of Nursing and Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, WA, Australia.
Abstract
AIM: This study examined the impact of family group conferences on coercive treatment in adult psychiatry. BACKGROUND: Coercive treatment in psychiatry infringes the fundamental rights of clients, including the right to control their lives. A promising intervention is the family group conferences, which has the potential to prevent crises through the integration of the expertise of informal and professional networks. DESIGN: A responsive evaluation, including qualitative and quantitative methods, was deployed to study the process leading up to the FGC, the proceedings and the impact of the conference. METHOD: From 2013-2015, 41 family group conferences were studied in three regions in the Netherlands. The impact of every conference was examined with scales (ranging from 0-10) during interviews with attendees (clients, family members, friends, mental health professionals and family group conferences coordinators) who reflected on three outcome measures: belongingness, ownership and coercion. RESULTS: After the family group conferences, respondents indicated a slight reduction in their experience of coercive treatment. They also mentioned an increase in ownership and belongingness. CONCLUSION: Family group conferences seems a promising intervention to reduce coercion in psychiatry. It helps to regain ownership and restores belongingness. If mental health professionals take a more active role in the pursuit of a family group conferences and reinforce the plans with their expertise, they can strengthen the impact even further.
AIM: This study examined the impact of family group conferences on coercive treatment in adult psychiatry. BACKGROUND: Coercive treatment in psychiatry infringes the fundamental rights of clients, including the right to control their lives. A promising intervention is the family group conferences, which has the potential to prevent crises through the integration of the expertise of informal and professional networks. DESIGN: A responsive evaluation, including qualitative and quantitative methods, was deployed to study the process leading up to the FGC, the proceedings and the impact of the conference. METHOD: From 2013-2015, 41 family group conferences were studied in three regions in the Netherlands. The impact of every conference was examined with scales (ranging from 0-10) during interviews with attendees (clients, family members, friends, mental health professionals and family group conferences coordinators) who reflected on three outcome measures: belongingness, ownership and coercion. RESULTS: After the family group conferences, respondents indicated a slight reduction in their experience of coercive treatment. They also mentioned an increase in ownership and belongingness. CONCLUSION: Family group conferences seems a promising intervention to reduce coercion in psychiatry. It helps to regain ownership and restores belongingness. If mental health professionals take a more active role in the pursuit of a family group conferences and reinforce the plans with their expertise, they can strengthen the impact even further.
Authors: Thomas Reisch; Simone Beeri; Georges Klein; Philipp Meier; Philippe Pfeifer; Etienne Buehler; Florian Hotzy; Matthias Jaeger Journal: Front Psychiatry Date: 2018-10-26 Impact factor: 4.157