Trauma-Informed Risk Management V.1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Developing a Trauma-Informed Model of Suicide Risk Management in the Mental Health Crisis Setting
IRAS ID
303743
Contact name
Jesse Ofori-Bull
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Canterbury Christ Church University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 30 days
Research summary
Reducing and preventing suicide is a key priority in mental healthcare in England (NHS England, 2016). Most services privilege protocol-driven approaches to risk management, with relationships between staff and service users often seen as an adjunct or a means to implementing these procedures rather than the primary tool for managing risk in themselves (Aggett & Messent, 2019). However, trauma-informed approaches (TIAs), propose that since much mental distress is the result of traumatic experiences which occurred in relationships, safe and supportive relationships are the most effective route to managing suicidal distress and suicide risk (Sweeney, 2016).
Service users and staff have long called for alternative approaches to risk management (Berzins et al., 2020). Crisis houses are one such alternative, typically based in a residential rather than hospital setting, which some consider less stigmatising, coercive, and institutionalised (Johnson et al., 2009), and in which service users have reported better satisfaction and relationships with staff (Sweeney et al., 2014). Indeed, Prytherch et al. (2020) found that it was the relationships themselves which crisis house service users found key to managing their risk.
Building on Prytherch's (2020) findings, and due to a dearth of research on the topic, the current paper seeks to characterise the trauma-informed approach to suicide risk management taken in one such crisis house. The project will take a grounded theory approach, based on interviews with staff and service users about their views and experiences of trauma-informed risk management. The project will contribute to the emerging literature on trauma-informed mental healthcare, of which risk management is an understudied area. It is also hoped that the investigation will contribute to current practice by providing a model of risk management that is relevant to generic mental health services, such as crisis and inpatient teams, who wish to implement more trauma-informed ways of working.
REC name
London - Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/LO/0093
Date of REC Opinion
9 Feb 2022
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion