A compassionate formulation of task drift in mental health staff

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the novel use of the compassion focused formulation framework, to give thought to the ways that staff can be distracted from their primary task. It aims to examine systemic ideas for supporting staff to be effective and compassionate in their mental health care.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a reflective piece using qualitative data and experience to frame the information.

Findings

Staff have a variety of ways of coping with the stress of their work and some of these ways are more helpful than others. The formulation framework creates a helpful structure for understanding these strategies in a non‐blaming way. This facilitates reflective practice and the model points to ways that compassionate organisations can help staff in their primary task.

Originality/value

The CFT formulation has not been applied systemically in the literature to organisations or groups of staff.

Citation

Kennedy, A. (2013), "A compassionate formulation of task drift in mental health staff", Mental Health Review Journal, Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 73-82. https://doi.org/10.1108/MHRJ-01-2013-0001