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This paper aims to offer a commentary on Psychologically Informed Services: A Good Practice Guide, a recently published operational guidance document on developing psychologically informed environments (PiEs) in services for homeless people.

The paper is an invited opinion piece and comment based on the author's specialist knowledge gained from undertaking research addressing the experiences and needs of young runaways.

The new operational guidance is welcomed but should be extended so that psychologically informed environments are provided in services for young runaways under the age of 16, who often encounter abuse, mental health issues and problematic substance misuse and experience homelessness post 16 and into adulthood.

Commissioners and practitioners should encourage the development of psychologically informed environments for young runaways to meet their needs, aid recovery and reduce the likelihood of experiencing homelessness as they move into adulthood.

This paper seeks to offer a commentary on Psychologically Informed Services: A Good Practice Guide, a recently published operational guidance document on developing psychologically informed environments (PIEs) in services for homeless people.

The paper is an invited opinion piece and comment, based on the specialist experience and viewpoint of the authors in education on mental health issues in primary care.

The new operational guidance is welcomed, with some provisos. Psychologically informed environments are needed not just in homelessness resettlement, but in all areas where services are commissioned; and all commissioned services should take particular care to collect suitable data on the outcomes they aim for and intend to achieve.

There is a great opportunity with GP commissioning to commission services that are psychologically informed and holistic, although it may be hard to ensure services remain user‐focused and not disjointed if split up for tendering. Public health leadership on the new Health and Wellbeing Boards will be crucial to integrate services so the new system will not make things worse. Given the need, hopefully a similar drive for PIEs everywhere – the criminal justice system, care homes and community wellbeing – will follow.

Although the idea of a therapeutic community (TC) has lost none of its dynamism, there are many modern‐day environments in which the original TC model has been unable to make headway. In recent years, new ideas have been emerging for the development of institutions and services that can be adapted to a wide range of psychological needs and settings, such as homelessness hostels and refuges. The psychologically‐informed environment (PIE) arises from the scope for reflective practice, leading to changes in day‐to‐day working ‐ including a more planned variant for high secure services. The PIE approach seems to offer greater flexibility in scope than the TC model. Nevertheless, such new approaches may yet need a clear values base; and the next article in this series will explore new ideas for the creation of ‘enabling environments’ in a still wider range of settings.

This paper seeks to offer a commentary on Psychologically Informed Services: A Good Practice Guide, a recently published operational guidance document on developing psychologically informed environments (PIEs) in services for homeless people.

The paper is an invited opinion piece and comment based on the specialist experience and viewpoint of the author in working with advocacy services in the UK and in the USA.

The new operational guidance is welcomed, with some provisos. Specifically, any emphasis on training for staff should certainly include an equal weighting on training for service users themselves in order to support positive self‐direction and development.

Services that wish to develop as PIEs will need to ensure that service users are fully engaged and enabled through the process to identify their own needs.

This study aims to explore the perceptions of staff in four teams regarding the implementation of psychologically informed environments (PIE) across a community service and three hostels supporting individuals facing severe and multiple disadvantage.

Using a pre-post design, the PIEs Assessment and Self-Development for Services (known as the Pizazz) was completed by staff before the implementation of PIEs and at a six-month follow-up. A narrative review of the results and thematic analysis of the qualitative data are presented.

The majority of the Pizazz elements were rated as improved following PIE implementation. Thematic analysis developed three themes influencing staff members’ ability to develop a PIE: Complexities of Our and Wider Systems; Ready-made or Baked from Scratch; and Reflective and Responsive Staff.

A planned one-year follow-up was obstructed by the coronavirus pandemic, limiting understanding of longer-term impact. Having only gathered data from staff members, the results cannot corroborate staff members’ perceptions. Further research could explore other stakeholder perspectives, as well as the impact of PIE implementation on staff perception of resources, and of a possible ceiling effect for hostels trying to develop PIE.

To the authors’ best of knowledge, this is the first UK study to use the Pizazz to evaluate the implementation of PIE.

This paper aims to describe the origins of the concept of a psychologically informed environment (PIE), as now adopted and applied in homelessness resettlement, placing this in the context of work recently carried out under the aegis of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Centre for Quality Improvement to recognise and promote “enabling environments” in all areas of social practice.

This paper gives an historical account of the contemporary development of new thinking and practical applications for enhancing community mental health and well‐being.

The concept of an enabling environment (EE) arose out of efforts to up‐date for the twenty‐first century the post‐war concept of a therapeutic community, for all services working with the same basic core values and psycho‐social awareness. The EE approach now applies this framework more flexibly, yet with a clear operational focus in each sector, to a wider range of organisational contexts, social practice and agencies outside the therapy and care services world. From the outset, homelessness resettlement and social housing practice was seen as a key part of the overall ambition.

Understanding the values base behind social‐psychological approaches in social practice environments helps to translate these ideas into service‐led improvements in actual frontline services practice. In particular, the enabling environments approach offers a handy tool for self‐assessment and service improvement, which is fully compatible with the PIE's philosophy.

The concept of a PIE is currently acquiring momentum within homelessness resettlement work in the UK. In helping to establish the underlying values framework for psychologically‐informed services; and also provide tools for such services to use, this paper makes a contribution to help inform developing practice.

Many homeless people have significant levels of early adverse experiences and consequent mental health difficulties. The purpose of this paper is to examine the experiences of residents and staff living and working in a psychologically informed environment (PIE), a new model of hostel for homeless people which aims to update and make more flexible the principles of the therapeutic community, thereby meeting the psychological and emotional needs of residents.

Semi-structured interviews were carried out with nine residents, ten staff and five psychotherapists at two PIE hostels in London. The data were analysed using thematic analysis with a phenomenological epistemological approach.

Analysis generated 18 themes for residents and staff combined, organised into five domains: what makes a home, resident needs, managing relationships, reflective practice and theory vs practice of PIEs. The study suggests that PIEs broadly meet their aim in providing a different type of environment from standard hostels. Efforts to build relationships with residents are particularly prioritised. This work can be challenging for staff and reflective practice groups provide a supportive forum. There are limits to the extent to which the theoretical PIE can be put into practice in the current political and economic climate.

This is one of the first qualitative studies of PIEs. It provides perspectives on their theoretical background as well as how they operate and are experienced in practice. It may be informative to services intending to establish a PIE and to commissioners in assessing appropriate resources.

The purpose of this paper is to inspire services to create Psychologically Informed Environments (PIEs) to support people experiencing homelessness, complex trauma and multiple exclusion.

It outlines key elements of PIEs and how these have been implemented at the Waterloo Project; a 19 bed hostel and integrated health and social care partnership in Lambeth. It considers the importance of meeting individuals emotional and psychological needs to support them out of homelessness.

The service review found a reliable reduction in residents’ mental distress and improved health and wellbeing. Repeat homelessness, anti-social and self-harming behaviour decreased whilst engagement with services, self-care and esteem increased. There are early indications of cost benefits to health and social care services. Staff reported professional development and an increase in their sense of personal accomplishment.

The paper aims to share learning, good practice and the outcomes of a psychologically informed approach to working with individuals who have not had their needs met by existing services. It illustrates the actual and potential social and economic impact and value on both individuals and public services.

This paper seeks to offer a commentary on Psychologically Informed Services: A Good Practice Guide, a recently published operational guidance document on developing psychologically informed environments (PIEs) in services for homeless people.

The paper is an invited opinion piece and comment, based on the specialist experience and viewpoint of the author as Chief Executive of Second Step, a housing association providing support to a range of vulnerable people.

The new operational guidance is welcomed. The author outlines the use of the concept of a psychologically informed environment, as developed in practice through an initial pilot service run by Second Step. This practice learning was then spread and developed more broadly through other Second Step services.

On the basis of their experience, the author makes observations on what was found most useful, to “inform” their service. The agency has now agreed a Psychological Therapies Strategy, which focuses on developing training for staff on interventions that can be effectively used within the staff role. Reflective practice is promoted throughout the service.

The purpose of this paper is to describe research into attachment styles of rough sleepers and considersthe implications for practice.

The research was structured interviews with a cohort of rough sleepers analysed through evidence-based techniques, and the implications were drawn out with reference to current best practice.

The rough sleepers in the cohort had a very different pattern of attachment styles to the housed population, with 100% insecure vs c35%, and 50% insecure disorganised vs >15%.

The limitation is that the cohort was relatively small, n = 22 and was a sample of convenience. The implications are that homelessness services working with rough sleepers need to be attachment-informed as much as trauma-informed.

Practical implications are that homelessness services need to have a more rounded psychological perspective such as psychologically informed environments rather than just a trauma-informed approach.

Rough sleepers suffer from deeply pervasive and severe attachment disorders, and this may be causal to their becoming rough sleepers and is certainly a factor in whether or not they are successfully rehoused.

There is almost no other original research published into the attachment styles of rough sleepers or homeless people. The current trend is for trauma-informed services: the call for attachment-informed ones is original.