Qualitative trauma exposure in high secure male population
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Patients' experiences of trauma exposure in a forensic high secure male mental health hospital
IRAS ID
269997
Contact name
Claire Browne
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research and Development Department NHS Mersey Care Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 2 days
Research summary
Research has identified that psychiatric hospitalisation and detention in custodial settings can involve exposure of patients to several sources of harm including physical and sexual assault, victimisation, seclusion and/or segregation, involuntary hospitalisation, forced medication and physical restraint. Consideration and identification of such trauma experiences is essential for accurate formulations of clinical need and for accurate risk of violence formulations. Within mental health services, Trauma Informed Care (TiC) is an approach implemented to identify and eliminate practices that inadvertently recreate or reinforce the patient's experiences of trauma. It is suggested that adoption and implementation of TiC principles has relevance in secure forensic mental health settings at environmental, interpersonal, psychological and neurobiological levels. However, research indicates that clinicians often avoid asking people with severe mental health difficulties about their exposure to adversity. Further, some patients may be reluctant to discuss or disclose past trauma, and thus their experiences are often overlooked. Therefore, this study aims to elicit patients’ accounts of their trauma experiences within secure or forensic settings. A further aim of the study is to explore the interpersonal or environmental factors that may increase or decrease the likelihood of disclosure of abuse to staff.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/NW/0503
Date of REC Opinion
8 Aug 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion