Mental health staff’s experiences of implementing trauma-informed care in the NHS

Purpose The NHS long-term plan outlined that mental health services in the UK will be based on the trauma-informed approach in the next 10 years. Staff in leadership roles in those services will face a responsibility to lead the implementation of TIC; however, little is known about the experiences of these staff attempting to create change. Therefore, this study aims to gain an understanding of mental health staff (MHS)’s experiences in implementing trauma-informed care (TIC) in the NHS. Design/methodology/approach In total, 14 mental health staff (MHS), comprising ten psychologists and four multidisciplinary clinicians, were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted via Microsoft Teams to provide qualitative data. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) reflexive thematic analysis. Findings Five themes were found: 1) having a visionary outlook and high expectations for change, 2) professional growth and personal development, 3) affirmation of the role’s importance and impact, 4) psychological discomfort and 5) ways of coping. Participants strongly believed that TIC should be standard practice for all health-care staff, noting that implementing TIC led to their professional and personal growth. While they found satisfaction in influencing others to value TIC, they experienced negative emotions when their efforts were unsuccessful and used various strategies to overcome barriers and manage psychological discomfort. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore the experiences of MHS implementing TIC in the NHS. Support recommendations for staff in the role are made and future research is identified.