A systematic review and narrative synthesis of indirect psychological intervention in acute mental health inpatient settings

OBJECTIVES: Psychologists frequently deliver indirect psychological interventions in mental health inpatient settings to support staff to reflect upon and improve their clinical practice. However, research into these interventions is sparse. Therefore, this study aimed to undertake a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the indirect psychological interventions used in mental health inpatient settings. METHODS: MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Embase were searched for eligible studies and forward‐citation searching was undertaken. A narrative synthesis was undertaken to synthesize results. The quality of studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. RESULTS: Ten studies were included in the review, and all utilized a small to moderate sample size. We identified five categories of interventions involving a range of methodologies and the studies were assessed to be of good to adequate quality. The most common type of indirect intervention employed was case formulation sessions. Other types of indirect interventions included formal clinical supervision, reflective practice and staff practice‐based education sessions. Overall, the utilization of indirect psychological interventions shows promise, particularly case formulation sessions. CONCLUSIONS: The use of indirect psychological interventions within mental health inpatient settings may have benefits for patient care. However, additional larger scale research is required to further develop the evidence base of indirect interventions for this setting.