Paper 2: Consumer views and experiences of services following REFOCUS-PULSAR staff training

Michelle KEHOE1,2, Ellie FOSSEY1

1Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
2Alfred Health, Adult Mental and Addiction Health, Melbourne, Australia

The PULSAR study was a large scale Stepped-Wedge Randomised Controlled Trial using an adapted version of the REFOCUS training approach seeking to promote recovery oriented practice across a range of service sectors and teams in mental health services in Melbourne Australia (1)  As part of the research program associated with PULSAR, a qualitative study (2) explored how consumers perceived their recovery following community mental health staff undertaking the co-delivered REFOCUS-PULSAR training in recovery-oriented practice, through one-on-one interviews with twenty-one adults receiving community mental health care. Findings have not previously been presented in this setting. The identified themes included connections to community and professional staff were viewed as important to support their recovery journeys; that seeking and striving towards a better life was personal and individual in how meaning around the idea of a better life was made; and that barriers to recovery primarily focused on lack of choice. Participants also expressed ‘uncertainty’ and struggled to identify not only what their recovered future might entail, but also to identify recovery focused language and aspects of recovery-oriented practice in their interactions with the service. In this presentation, we will discuss these themes, their implications for open, collaborative conversations around recovery between consumers and staff, and the development of specifically targeted recovery resources to facilitate such conversations.

(1)          Meadows, G., Brophy, L., Shawyer, F., Enticott, J. C., Fossey, E., Thornton, C. D., Weller, P. J., Wilson-Evered, E., Edan, V., & Slade, M. (2019). REFOCUS-PULSAR recovery-oriented practice training in specialist mental health care: a stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6(2), 103-114.

(2)          Kehoe M, Fossey E, Edan V, Chaffey L, Brophy L, Weller PJ, Shawyer F, Meadows G. Consumer Views and Experiences of Secondary-Care Services Following REFOCUS-PULSAR Staff Recovery-Oriented Practices Training. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(10):5894.