Experience of the therapeutic relationship after physical restraint v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Service user and staff experiences of the therapeutic relationship following physical restraint in a forensic inpatient setting.
IRAS ID
181446
Contact name
Megan Duffy
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 22 days
Research summary
In a forensic inpatient setting, service users and staff continue to have a therapeutic relationship following a physical restraint. The therapeutic relationship is a relationship based around the service user’s treatment. In forensic inpatient care, physical restraint can be used as a last resort to manage risk to both the service user and others, when preventative de-escalation measures have been unsuccessful. This involves the restriction of the movement of a service user by staff members.
Both the therapeutic relationship and physical restraint have been identified as important for treatment outcomes and quality of institutional care for people with long term mental health problems, which many service users in a forensic setting experience. Research suggests that service users and staff find physical restraint a difficult experience. However, there is a lack of research looking at the potential impact of physical restraint on the therapeutic relationship.
This is a qualitative research design. Both service user and staff perspectives will be explored in relation to the impact of physical restraint and how this relates to their perspectives of each other and the therapeutic relationship after these incidents.
The study aims to interview up to 12 participants. Both service user and staff participants will be recruited from an independent sector medium-low secure hospital in South Wales. Participants who meet the inclusion criteria will be identified by the Multi-Disciplinary-Team and approached with Participant Information Sheets. If interested in taking part, the participant will provide consent to meet the Researcher.
If the participant decides to participate when they meet the Researcher, informed written consent will be obtained. They will take part in one semi-structured interview, taking up to approximately one hour. Grounded Theory will be used in the analysis, to develop a model and theory from the data collected.
REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/SW/0209
Date of REC Opinion
1 Sep 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion