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This paper aims to explore what is known in the literature about leadership and burnout within mental health clinicians (MHC).

The Arksey and O’Malley (2005) framework was used to conduct a systematised scoping review of three databases: PsycInfo, PubMed and CINAHL. To ensure a broad scope of the literature, Google, Google Scholar and three sources of grey literature were also searched.

In total 1,087 articles were identified and 36 were included in the final review, 23 of which were cross-sectional and correlational studies. There is a lack of experimental studies, longitudinal research and qualitative approaches. The literature repeatedly demonstrated an association between leadership and burnout; transformational-leadership style, good quality supervision, supportive relationships, positive communication and fostering autonomy are areas of interest.

Future research activity should aim to follow the recommendations made in the literature; more experimental and longitudinal approaches are needed to support practical application of the findings.

To the best of the author’s knowledge there is no other review which maps out the research pertaining to leadership and burnout among MHC. These findings can be used to guide future research to ensure that efforts are directed toward original, meaningful and practical ventures that will add to the evidence base and benefit clinical practice.

The English-speaking Caribbean is currently at a crossroads regarding the education and training of home-grown psychologists meeting the ever-increasing demands for mental health care in the region. This paper recommends an innovative approach to build capacity in mental health care in the English-speaking Caribbean that will require partnerships between the regional university, experienced registered practising psychologists, professional resources in the diaspora, public health and education institutions, which will produce trained clinical supervisors, PhD psychologists and improved mental health services in the region.

Documents about the postgraduate programmes in psychology from the regional university were sourced. PubMed, Medline and Google Scholar were searched for the English language published articles using the key phrases psychology AND/OR psychologist AND/OR education AND training AND mental health. Searches of the reference lists of included articles were also undertaken.

Postgraduate psychology programmes in the region have become stalled at the master’s level. Meanwhile, doctoral-level training is being sought outside the Caribbean largely due to the lack of availability of trained clinical supervisors. Moreover, training outside the region may lead to deficits regarding cultural relevance of practices, as well as impede the overall development of Caribbean psychology.

This paper provides insights into the current practice of education and training for Caribbean postgraduate psychology students and the implications for the development of the practice of psychology in the region. Recommendations for educational and training strategies are provided.

The proposed framework presented will help upgrade experienced master’s-level trained psychologists to PhDs with training in clinical supervision through Research Advancing Intensive Supervision Education (RAISE) doctoral programmes and can cultivate improved mental health services with a wider reach across the Caribbean.

Raising the training standards of the psychologists, preparing clinical supervisors and increasing access to practicum sites will improve the trajectories of psychologists within the English-speaking Caribbean and the mental health of the population. Such changes will help to ensure the use of culturally appropriate therapies with Caribbean clientele. There are many social implications for capacity building within the practice and research domains of the preparation of psychologists. For example, increased access to psychological care, improved well-being of citizens, decreased prevalence of work absenteeism and improved management of citizens’ mental health and well-being.

This paper provides insights into the current practice of education and training for Caribbean postgraduate psychology students and the implications for the development of the practice of psychology in the region. Recommendations for educational and training strategies are provided. The proposed organising framework presented offers a new conceptual model that can be used to guide the capacity building of psychologists within the English-speaking Caribbean. The proposed framework will help upgrade experienced master’s-level trained psychologists to PhDs with training in clinical supervision through RAISE doctoral programmes and can cultivate improved mental health services with a wider reach across the Caribbean.

Psychotherapy and clinical supervision outcomes are influenced by client and supervisee factors, one of which is cultural identity. Those with diverse racial and ethnic minoritised identities often experience disparities in therapy outcomes. Therapists and supervisors need to be responsive to the identity of those they support. The multicultural orientation (MCO) framework is an emerging concept in psychotherapy and clinical supervision that may offer these practitioners a framework to be responsive.

A preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews was conducted. Six databases, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Academic Search Complete, Web of Science and PsychInfo, were searched for peer-reviewed literature published in English between the years 2000 and 2023.

A total of 1,553 sources were identified, of which (n = 42) are included in this review. Findings suggest that MCO is still in its infancy as applied to therapy and clinical supervision. Most of the research has been conducted in America, using quantitative methodologies with white western populations. Cultural humility is the most studied MCO pillar, and variables such as reductions in psychological stress, the working alliance and microaggressions are reported on as outcomes. MCO applied to the group therapy process is an emerging finding of interest. However, more research is needed, especially experiential designs across different and diverse populations and contexts.

MCO is an emerging therapy and clinical supervision process that has the potential to improve the outcomes for therapy clients and supervisees. Further research is needed to replicate current studies, and further research with diverse populations, countries and contexts should be undertaken as a priority.

Although it is recommended that reflective practice groups (RPGs) are used to support staff in inpatient intellectual disability (ID) services, there is to date no research on their effectiveness or how staff perceive RPGs in these settings. This paper aims to evaluate staff perceptions of the RPGs in an assessment and treatment unit for people with ID and to ascertain the nature of any barriers for staff in attending the group.

Thirteen staff completed questionnaires ascertaining their views on the purpose, process and impact of the RPG run within the service. Questionnaires included a version of the clinical supervision evaluation questionnaire (CSEQ; Horton et al., 2008) adapted for this context and a questionnaire designed by the authors examining barriers to attending the group.

Staff responses indicated that they valued the group and perceived it as improving their clinical practice and their self-awareness. Staff did not always perceive group sessions as having clear aims and did not perceive the group as enhancing their well-being or their awareness of gaps in their skills. RPGs may be most effective if they form part of a service-wide approach to staff support and development.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first evaluation of RPGs in inpatient ID services. The adapted CSEQ was found to be an easily implemented method of evaluating RPGs in an inpatient ID setting.

The purpose of this study is to explore the sustainability of innovations introduced during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic in remote and rural primary care advanced clinical practice.

The methodology includes an exploratory qualitative study of eight key stakeholders from Scottish remote and rural primary care advanced practice (three policymakers and five advanced practitioners). Data were collected using semi-structured interviews during 2022 and analysed thematically.

Advanced practice in remote and rural primary care is characterised by a shortage of doctors, close-knit communities and a broad scope of practice. Covid-19 catalysed changes in the delivery of healthcare. Innovations which participants wanted to sustain include hybrid working, triage, online training and development, and increased inter-professional support networks.

Findings provide valuable insights into how best to support remote and rural advanced practice which may have implications for retaining healthcare professionals. They also identified useful innovations which could benefit from further investment.

Given current healthcare workforce pressures, identifying and sustaining innovations which will support and retain staff are imperative. Hybrid consultations and online access to training, development and support should be sustained to support the remote and rural advanced practice workforce. Further research should explore the sustainability of innovations introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic in other care contexts.

The purpose of this paper was to explore the development of the professional identity of South African intern psychologists during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper – that presents a historical reflection borne from a significant moment in time – aimed to capture what the authors can learn from this specific cohort of intern psychologists and their experiences of work-based learning.

Through the lens of the interpretative phenomenological approach, the authors analysed seven semi-structured interviews. Data analysis involved a line-by-line analysis of each individual transcript, where after a thorough, in-depth analysis was conducted across all the cases.

Against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic, the findings demonstrated the interns' initial uncertainties, severe exhaustion, perceived gaps in their training, and resilience despite unusual and difficult circumstances in their WBL internship.

The study was limited to seven intern psychologists in South Africa.

The findings suggest that support – during and after the COVID-19 pandemic – is crucial throughout the training of psychologists and means to facilitate and develop professional identity and resilience. This will provide the opportunity to safeguard emerging healthcare professionals from burnout while simultaneously advocating for supportive WBL and continual professional development spaces protecting healthcare professionals and the public.

With this article, we explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the professional identity development of intern psychologists (psychologists in training). The authors expand on the aforementioned original contribution, since the authors situate their research within the Global South. More specifically, the authors explored how intern psychologists' developed their professional identities against the backdrop of a largely resource-scarce context of South Africa.

Virtual care is any interaction between a patient and clinician or clinicians, occurring remotely using information technologies. Like many international services, United Kingdom (UK) ambulance services use paramedics and nurses to undertake telephone assessments of patients calling the 999 emergency service line. Using their clinical knowledge, experience, and, at times, computer decision support software, these clinicians assess patients from a range of clinical acuities to confirm the need for an emergency response or identify and support those patients who can be cared for with remote treatment advice and referral. The Covid-19 pandemic saw UK ambulance services change and adapt their operating models to meet social distancing requirements, increase clinical staff numbers and mitigate staff becoming unavailable for work due to self-isolation. One such strategy was moving clinicians from Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs) to working at home. Staff utilised digital phone systems, remote computer-aided dispatch modules, remote clinical decision support software and video platforms, which allowed close to full functionality compared to inside typical EOCs. There is a dearth of literature exploring the comparative practice of clinicians from home rather than from EOCs. Therefore, this study reports the findings of a qualitative analysis of these effects from the clinician's perspective. The authors hope that the findings from this study will inform the operating, education and leadership practices of those delivering such services.

A convenience sample of telephone nurses and paramedics from one UK ambulance service in which home working had been implemented were contacted. 15 clinicians with recent home working experience responded to the invite out of a possible 31 (48%). All participants had previously practised remote assessment from within an EOC. Semi-structured interviews took place via video conferencing software and were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. An inductive approach was taken to generating codes and both researchers separately reading the transcripts before re-reading them, assigning initial themes and determining frequency.

Four main themes were identified with further associated sub-themes: (1) performance, (2) support, (3) distractions and interruptions and (4) confidence in decision-making.

There are very few studies exploring the practice of remote clinicians in emergency EOCs. This study identified that home working clinicians felt their productivity had increased, making them more satisfied in their practice. However, there were mixed feelings over the level of support they perceived they now received, despite the mechanisms of support being largely the same. Supervisors found it especially challenging to provide support to practitioners; and employers might need to clarify the support mechanisms they provide to homeworkers. The elimination of distractions and interruptions was seen as a largely positive result of homeworking; however, these interruptions were not seen as inappropriate, thus, identifying a need for role clarity and task coordination rather than interruption elimination. Finally, clinicians felt that they become more confident when working from home, researching more, trusting themselves more and relying less on others to reach safe outcomes. However, there were missed opportunities to learn from listening to others' clinical practice.

The purpose of this article is to unpack more deeply Essential 2: Clinical Preparation. This article offers a comparison of the first and second editions of Essential 2 and also provides resources and activities partners can use and engage in to deepen their work on the clinical preparation of teachers.

This article is being resubmitted so that it can be reprinted with the other Nine Essential articles.

This paper aims to explore the roles of psychologists in seclusion in adult mental health services in Ireland, their perspectives on seclusion and its use in recovery-oriented practice and related professional practice issues.

A qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study was conducted from a social constructivist perspective. Semi-structured interviews with 17 psychologists were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Twenty-four themes were identified, which were clustered into four overarching themes. Participants viewed themselves and psychology in Ireland more broadly as peripheral to seclusion. They believed that seclusion possessed no inherent therapeutic value but viewed it as an uncomfortable and multi-faceted reality. Participants regarded seclusion and recovery as largely inconsistent and difficult to reconcile, and they perceived systemic factors, which had a pervasive negative impact on seclusion and recovery in practice.

The findings highlight the perceived complexity of seclusion and its interface with recovery, and the need to conscientiously balance conflicting priorities that cannot be easily reconciled to ensure ethical practice. The findings suggest psychologists are well-suited to participate in local and national discussions on using seclusion in recovery-oriented practice.

This study offers a unique insight into psychologists’ perceptions of seclusion and considers the implications of these views. Participants’ nuanced views suggest that psychologists can make valuable contributions to local and national discussions on these topics.

The purpose of this study was to explore the clinical readiness of simulation-based education (SBE) in preparing nursing and midwifery students for clinical practice in sub-Saharan Africa. This study has synthesised the findings from existing research studies and provides an overview of the current state of SBE in nursing and midwifery programs in the region.

A qualitative meta-synthesis of previous studies was conducted using the following steps: developing a review question, developing and a search strategy, extracting and meta-synthesis of the themes from the literature and meta-synthesis of themes. Five databases were searched for from existing English literature (PubMed, Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Professional Literature [CINAHL], PsycINFO, EMBASE and ScienceDirect Medline, CINAHL and Science Direct), including grey literature on the subject. Eight qualitative studies conducted in sub-Saharan Africa between 2014 and 2022 were included. Hawker et al.'s framework was used to assess quality.

The following themes emerged from the literature. Theme 1: Improved skills and competencies through realism and repetition. Theme 2: Improved skills and competencies through realism and repetition. Theme 3: Improved learning through debriefing and reflection. Theme 4: Constraints of simulation as a pedagogical teaching strategy.

The qualitative meta-synthesis intended to cover articles from 2012 to 2022. Between 2012 and 2013, the authors could not identify purely qualitative studies from sub-Saharan Africa. The studies identified were either mixed methods or purely quantitative. This constitutes a study limitation.

Findings emphasise educator training in SBE. Comprehensive multidisciplinary training, complemented by expertise and planned debriefing sessions, serves as a catalyst for fostering reflective learning. Well-equipped simulation infrastructure is essential in preparing students for their professional competencies for optimal patient outcomes. Additional research is imperative to improve the implementation of SBE in sub-Saharan Africa.

The originality and value of SBE in nursing and midwifery programs in sub-Saharan Africa lie in its contextual relevance, adaptation to resource constraints, innovative teaching methodologies, provision of a safe learning environment, promotion of interprofessional collaboration and potential for research and evidence generation. These factors contribute to advancing nursing and midwifery education and improving healthcare outcomes in the region. This study fills this gap in the literature.