Key elements of an evidence-based clinical psychology service within adult critical care

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated renewed interest in the psychological rehabilitation needs of patients admitted to intensive care units. While the availability of embedded practitioner psychologists within adult critical care teams remains inconsistent, post numbers have increased in response to the clinical needs of the pandemic. As psychology services within adult critical care become more widely established, models for service provision will be required. We describe our experience of developing a model for the delivery of a clinical psychology service within critical care in a District General Hospital with specialist tertiary surgical and cancer services. The current paper describes a service design that is firmly rooted in psychological theory and the broader clinical health psychology evidence base. We hope that our learning will be helpful to others.

Barriers to finding psychology postdoctoral training opportunities in intensive care settings.

“…Including specialty-trained psychologists in these settings may enhance the management of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral symptoms, and, subsequently, improve overall outcomes. This practice is commonplace in other countries, such as the United Kingdom (Beadman & Carraretto, 2023). Understanding what training opportunities exist for psychologists in intensive care settings in the United States may help ensure the viability of these roles in the future.…”

“…With the aim of improving long-term outcomes in critical illness survivors, integration of psychologists into intensive care settings may help address modifiable environmental and behavioral risk factors for PICS (Jackson & Jutte, 2016). Although rehabilitation psychology foundational principles and specialty competencies provide essential groundwork for practicing in intensive care settings, specialty training in critical care psychology is also needed to be a successful and effective team member (Beadman & Carraretto, 2023; Stucky et al, 2016). In our review of the literature, there are few guidelines or formal training standards around practice in hospital and ICU settings.…”

The impact of visiting restrictions in intensive care units for families during the COVID‐19 pandemic: An integrative review

“…The anxiety and depression suffered by family members have reinforced the need for clinical psychologists in the ICU, and the importance of psychological recovery for patients and their families, particularly post ICU discharge (Beadman & Carraretto, 2021; Wade & Highfield, 2021). Current guidelines from the United Kingdom (UK) recommend at least one full‐time clinical psychologist employed for large ICUs and a part‐time psychologist for smaller units (The Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine & Intensive Care Society, 2022).…”

Psychosoziale Betreuung auf der Intensivstation

“…Zentrales Ziel der therapeutischen Begleitung sind Stabilisierung durch Minimierung von Belastungen sowie die Vermittlung von Strategien im Umgang mit körperlichen Beschwerden und psychischen Beeinträchtigungen [31,44].…”