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Exploring the impact on primary care mental health practitioners of the death of a patient by suicide: An IPA study.

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Title: Exploring the impact on primary care mental health practitioners of the death of a patient by suicide: An IPA study.
Authors: Sandford, David M., Kirtley, Olivia J., Thwaites, Richard, O'Connor, Rory C.
Source: Psychology & Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice. Mar2023, Vol. 96 Issue 1, p56-82. 27p. 3 Charts.
Subjects: Suicide & psychology, Mental health personnel, Causes of death, Health services accessibility, Research methodology, Interviewing, Primary health care, Qualitative research, Phenomenology, Psychosocial factors, Research funding, Judgment sampling, Telecommuting, Psychological adaptation, Emotions, Attitudes toward death, Psychotherapy
Abstract: Objectives: There have been numerous qualitative studies into the impact of the death of a patient by suicide on clinicians, but the majority of studies have focussed on psychiatrists and psychologists, primarily in inpatient or secondary care settings. To date, little has been done to explore the impact of such deaths on other mental health practitioners working in primary care, such as those working in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services. Design: This qualitative study used purposive sampling and adopted an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodology. Method: All participants had experienced the death of a patient in their role as a practitioner in an IAPT service. Seven practitioners were recruited from services across the North of England. Semi‐structured, one‐hour telephone interviews were audio recorded and then transcribed verbatim. Results: Analysis of the transcripts identified a number of themes, which were represented in the majority of cases. Specifically, the analyses yielded four superordinate themes: (1) feeling shocked and upset about the death of a patient; (2) attempting to understand the causes of the suicide; (3) learning from the tragic event; and (4) reflections on what helped in coping with the tragic event. The emotional responses of shock, upset, guilt and fear of blame by IAPT practitioners following the death of a patient through suicide is consistent with that found in studies of other mental health practitioners. Conclusions: It is hoped that the current study will help raise awareness amongst primary care mental health practitioners, services and training centres, of the impact of losing a patient to suicide and will encourage them to consider how best to prepare and support practitioners in this eventuality. Recommendations include raising awareness of the potential for patient suicide in primary care services, providing clarity on the individualised support available and on the requirements of investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Psychology & Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Exploring the impact on primary care mental health practitioners of the death of a patient by suicide: An IPA study.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Psychology+%26+Psychotherapy%3A+Theory%2C+Research+%26+Practice%22">Psychology & Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice</searchLink>. Mar2023, Vol. 96 Issue 1, p56-82. 27p. 3 Charts.
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  Data: Objectives: There have been numerous qualitative studies into the impact of the death of a patient by suicide on clinicians, but the majority of studies have focussed on psychiatrists and psychologists, primarily in inpatient or secondary care settings. To date, little has been done to explore the impact of such deaths on other mental health practitioners working in primary care, such as those working in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services. Design: This qualitative study used purposive sampling and adopted an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodology. Method: All participants had experienced the death of a patient in their role as a practitioner in an IAPT service. Seven practitioners were recruited from services across the North of England. Semi‐structured, one‐hour telephone interviews were audio recorded and then transcribed verbatim. Results: Analysis of the transcripts identified a number of themes, which were represented in the majority of cases. Specifically, the analyses yielded four superordinate themes: (1) feeling shocked and upset about the death of a patient; (2) attempting to understand the causes of the suicide; (3) learning from the tragic event; and (4) reflections on what helped in coping with the tragic event. The emotional responses of shock, upset, guilt and fear of blame by IAPT practitioners following the death of a patient through suicide is consistent with that found in studies of other mental health practitioners. Conclusions: It is hoped that the current study will help raise awareness amongst primary care mental health practitioners, services and training centres, of the impact of losing a patient to suicide and will encourage them to consider how best to prepare and support practitioners in this eventuality. Recommendations include raising awareness of the potential for patient suicide in primary care services, providing clarity on the individualised support available and on the requirements of investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Psychology & Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=161788953
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        Value: 10.1111/papt.12426
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        Text: English
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        PageCount: 27
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    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Suicide & psychology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mental health personnel
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Causes of death
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Health services accessibility
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      – SubjectFull: Research methodology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Interviewing
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      – SubjectFull: Primary health care
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Qualitative research
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Phenomenology
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      – SubjectFull: Emotions
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      – SubjectFull: Attitudes toward death
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      – SubjectFull: Psychotherapy
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Exploring the impact on primary care mental health practitioners of the death of a patient by suicide: An IPA study.
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              Text: Mar2023
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