Befriending for mental health problems: Processes of helping

Mitchell, Gemma; Pistrang, Nancy

doi:10.1348/147608310x508566

Cited by 38 publications

(114 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Volunteers worked for programmes run by third sector, non-profit organisations, such as befriending or counselling schemes [21-27] or for programmes run by psychiatric hospitals [26,28]. The most frequently reported aim amongst these programmes was ‘patient social and community enhancement’ [22,24,27].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most frequently reported aim amongst these programmes was ‘patient social and community enhancement’ [22,24,27]. …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On average this was 12 months, but actual relationship length varied between volunteer-client pairs [24-27,29,30]. The highest level of commitment recorded was 5 hours a week [21], with the lowest at 4 hours a month [29].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Volunteering in the care of people with severe mental illness: a systematic review

Hallett

Klug²,

Lauber

et al. 2012

BMC Psychiatry

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BackgroundMuch of the literature to date concerning public attitudes towards people with severe mental illness (SMI) has focused on negative stereotypes and discriminatory behaviour. However, there also exists a tradition of volunteering with these people, implying a more positive attitude. Groups with positive attitudes and behaviours towards people with SMI have received relatively little attention in research. They merit further attention, as evidence on characteristics and experiences of volunteers may help to promote volunteering. The present paper aims to systematically review the literature reporting characteristics, motivations, experiences, and benefits of volunteers in the care of people with SMI.MethodsIn November 2010, a systematic electronic search was carried out in BNI, CINAHL, Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, Cochrane Registers and Web of Science databases, using a combination of ‘volunteer’, ‘mental health’ and ‘outcome’ search terms. A secondary hand search was performed in relevant psychiatric journals, grey literature and references.Results14 papers met the inclusion criteria for the review, with data on a total of 540 volunteers. The results suggest that volunteers are a mostly female, but otherwise heterogeneous group. Motivations for volunteering are a combination of what they can ‘give’ to others and what they can ‘get’ for themselves. Overall volunteers report positive experiences. The main benefit to persons with a psychiatric illness is the gaining of a companion, who is non-stigmatizing and proactive in increasing their social-community involvement.ConclusionsThe evidence base for volunteers in care of people with SMI is small and inconsistent. However there are potential implications for both current and future volunteering programmes from the data. As the data suggests that there is no ‘typical’ volunteer, volunteering programmes should recruit individuals from a variety of backgrounds. The act of volunteering can not only benefit people with SMI, but also the volunteers. Further research may specify methods of recruiting, training, supervising and using volunteers to maximise the benefit for all involved.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most frequently reported aim amongst these programmes was ‘patient social and community enhancement’ [22,24,27]. …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Volunteering in the care of people with severe mental illness: a systematic review

Hallett

Klug²,

Lauber

et al. 2012

BMC Psychiatry

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“…These parents believed that the quality of their relationship with their social workers had a capacity to have a beneficial effect on the outcomes of a social work intervention, by allowing them to keep communication channels open even when they disagreed with what the social worker wanted to do. Similar research studies have addressed preferences for helping style of physicians and nurses in women who reported depression around the time of the birth of a child (Henshaw et al, 2011), the experience of being befriended in people with mental health difficulties (Mitchell & Pistrang, 2011), patient views of health practitioner responsiveness to the personal meaning of their chronic pain (Ahlsen, Mengshoel, & Solbraekke, 2012;Angel et al, 2012;Kenny, 2004), the views of residents in a homelessness shelter regarding what constitutes a "therapeutic conversation" (Walsh, Rutherford, Sarafincian, & Sellmer, 2010), and women's views of "listening visits" by community nurses (Turner et al, 2010). Overall, this kind of research into clients' experiences of the counselling skills of their practitioner-helpers represents a valuable source of insight into the kind of skills and attitudes that make a positive difference.…”

Section: Issues Associated With the Challenge Of Responding To Expresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on embedded counselling: An emerging topic of potential importance for the future of counselling psychology

McLeod

2014

Counselling Psychology Quarterly

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A significant proportion of the counselling that people receive takes place within informal, situated encounters between service users and practitioners in fields such as nursing, medicine, teaching and social work. However, almost all of the research that has been carried out into the process and outcomes of counselling consists of studies of formal, contracted counselling and psychotherapy based in therapy clinics and offices. The competent and effective delivery of counselling that is embedded in a primary professional role, such as that of nurse, teacher or social worker, presents considerable challenges for practitioners. Research evidence around the process and outcomes of embedded counselling represents a valuable resource that has the potential to enhance the quality of counselling conversations enacted by practitioners in health, education, social work and other professions. An overview is provided of different types of research that has been carried out into informal and embedded counselling, and of the main themes that have emerged from these studies. Suggestions are made for the further development of this field.In 1945, Virgina Axline and Carl Rogers published an account of the counselling role undertaken by a teacher, over a period of several months, in response to the emotional and social needs of a disabled six-year-old boy who was a member of a class of 36 children for whom she was responsible (Axline & Rogers, 1945). This descriptive case study illustrated the ways in which this teacher was able to make use of counselling skills, behavioural interventions and consultation with other professionals, to play a key role in the recovery of a seriously troubled young person, mainly through a series of brief, 15 min listening conversations. It is hard to find other, more recent, case examples of this kind of work.In general, the field of counselling and counselling psychology has moved in the direction of becoming a discrete area of specialised professional activity, in which psychological assistance is provided by therapists in offices, rather than teachers in classrooms. Nevertheless, alongside the development and expansion of counselling and other psychotherapeutic interventions as standalone professional activities, individuals with problems in living continued to turn to trusted members of their community, such as

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“…This is a formal process, initiated and monitored by an external agency (Dean and Goodlad, 1998). There are examples of effective befriending programmes in other areas of health care including the older person (Lester et al, 2012), breastfeeding support for South Asian families (Douglas, 2012) and people with mental health problems (Mitchell and Pistrang, 2011). In the context of pregnant asylum-seeking and refugee women, it was proposed that befriending could be a useful intervention in addressing some of the difficulties that women face while living in the UK.…”

Section: Befriendingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the impact of befriending for pregnant asylum-seeking and refugee women

McCarthy¹,

Haith-Cooper

2013

British Journal of Midwifery

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Pregnant asylum-seeking and refugee women are a particularly vulnerable group in society, who may be possibly living alone in poverty in inappropriate accommodation (Dunne, 2007) and experiencing hostile attitudes (Hynes and Sale, 2010). They may have poor physical and mental health, placing them at an increased risk of poor pregnancy outcomes (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 2010). Despite this, they are less likely to attend for timely maternity care. This article discusses the evaluation to date of an ongoing befriending project located in Northern England, targeting pregnant asylum-seeking and refugee women and helping to address difficulties that they may face. Volunteer befrienders, who themselves are asylum-seeking and refugee mothers, receive training to provide support and guidance to clients. Preliminary data suggest that befriending has advantages for both client and volunteer: clients appear to develop a trusting relationship with their befriender which facilitates self-confidence and helps overcome social isolation; and the volunteers feel that they are undertaking a worthwhile role and often move onto paid employment. Befriending may be a useful resource for midwives and ultimately improve pregnancy outcomes for asylumseeking and refugee women.

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Befriending for mental health problems: Processes of helping

Abstract: The findings suggest that befriending shares commonalities with other types of psychological help. However, it is also characterized by some particular challenges, such as establishing an empathic relationship and managing boundaries and endings.

Cited by 38 publications

References 37 publications

Volunteering in the care of people with severe mental illness: a systematic review

Volunteering in the care of people with severe mental illness: a systematic review

Research on embedded counselling: An emerging topic of potential importance for the future of counselling psychology

Evaluating the impact of befriending for pregnant asylum-seeking and refugee women

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