A study of the meaning of and attitudes to work in adults in forensic psychiatric care...RCOT (Royal College of Occupational Therapist) Annual Conference 2017 (Clay, 2017)
E. Clay.
British Journal of Occupational Therapy 2017;80 72-73.
Occupational therapists (OTs) in a forensic psychiatric service questioned the varied motivation to work amongst their client group. This study aimed to explore attitudes and understand motivations to work. The UK government wants people receiving state benefits to find work, including mental health service users. There are also key performance indicators regarding vocational rehabilitation or training. Service users' attitudes must be understood to meet these targets. A phenomenological basis for this qualitative study was used. Individual semi-structured interviews allowed open questions and points of interest to be pursued. Interviews were audiorecorded and transcribed verbatim before thematic analysis. Nine participants were drawn from a medium secure forensic setting. Results showed all had some interest in working in the future. Money, structure and routine, and status were important aspects of work. Perceptions of barriers to work covered more than employer attitudes, stigma and loss of benefits that are usually discussed (Centre for Mental Health 2013; McQueen and Turner 2012). Participants were broadly concerned with feelings of readiness to work, separate to willingness. Some participants' attitude to work was contrary to the perception of their occupational therapist. This has implications for practice in the importance of understanding people's goals and supporting the achievement of these. Another implication for practice regards readiness for work. This study suggests developing skills in the management of illness and relationships should be emphasised. The types of work available to mental health service users with a history of offending, and the support available to them at work, should be a significant consideration. Ethical approval for this study was given by the National Research Ethics Committee in a letter dated 12 March 2015 following submission through the IRAS system (IRAS project ID: 145839). It was also approved by the local research ethics committee (Noclor) for the Trust in which the project took place.