MH23.2013 Review the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions with people with mental health needs

Overview

This standard covers the review of therapeutic and related interventions in relation to promoting recovery and mental health. It involves gathering and collating information relevant to the person's needs, strengths and personal circumstances and evaluating and reviewing these needs and presenting the outcomes of the review to appropriate others including the people concerned and resource holders. The people concerned may be individuals, families, carers, groups or communities and their needs for safety and support may relate to community, family or mental health service settings or contexts. This standard applies to anyone who works in the mental health sector in a role which requires them to review interventions and identify peoples' needs for safety, support and engagement in relation to developing settings and contexts that promote mental health and to determine the best ways of addressing these needs. Users of this standard will need to ensure that practice reflects up to date information and policies. Version No 2

Knowledge and Understanding

You will need to know and understand:

1. the current national legislation, guidelines and local policies and protocols which affect your work practice
2. how to communicate effectively in the appropriate medium to meet any recipients needs and preferences
3. how to inform people and significant others of the outcomes and implications of the review in a way which they are likely to understand and which recognises their concerns and interests
4. the rights and responsibilities of people to be involved in making decisions which affect them under current legislation and agreed legislation which is in the process of being implemented
5. how to recognise when people are not able to exercise their rights to make informed choices and methods of enabling people to exercise their rights effectively - themselves, with your help, or through the use of another
6. methods of supporting people to explore the review and any resulting implications
7. the different therapeutic options which may be appropriate, their availability and suitability
8. the information which is necessary for the review to be carried out effectively
9. the different sources of information on the person's needs and strengths and on the effectiveness of the programme in meeting their needs, and how these can be best accessed
10. methods of evaluating the effectiveness of the programme as a whole and the different interventions within it, including the various outcomes
11. how people and significant others may indicate concerns about the process without making them clear and explicit
12. how to listen and hear what the person has to say about the interventions and actively incorporate and respond to the person's views and concerns
13. the importance of valuing, recognising, respecting and promoting the diversity, expertise and experience of people with mental health needs and their significant others
14. the range of different ways in which the interventions can be altered to meet the needs of people and the ways in which their needs may have changed
15. the range of different ways in which the person's own particular strengths, aspirations and resources may have changed in ways relevant to the interventions
16. your own values and how these affect your work with people who use services and with other service providers
17. methods of recording the outcomes and content of the review process effectively, and the information which is necessary to include

Performance Criteria

You must be able to do the following:

1. discuss with people and significant others, in an appropriate manner, level and pace, the options suggested by the review and what this might mean for them in the short, medium and long term
2. encourage and support people and significant others to discuss the review outcomes and to engage in a collaborative process aimed at coming to an agreed understanding of the options available
3. discuss options for therapeutic interventions which are available and suitable to the person's identified needs and their personal beliefs, strengths and preferences and that support the person to make an informed choice
4. provide appropriate help to people who are unable to exercise their rights to make decisions for themselves
5. discuss and agree the aims of the therapeutic interventions with the person and significant others in a manner which allows any differences of opinion between the different parties to be reconciled and confirms the person's consent
6. agree staged goals in relation to each of the aims with the person and significant others and record these accurately, legibly and completely
7. discuss the role of the person and significant others in achieving the aims and goals of the interventions and agree these with all concerned
8. agree the location and timing of the interventions with the person and significant others and make the necessary arrangements
9. provide the person and significant others with information as to how the interventions will be evaluated and reviewed and agree their role within this process with them
10. clarify the information which may be made available to others as a result of the interventions and explain and confirm the person's understanding and agreement to any disclosures called for
11. ensure the information you communicate to others on the agreed interventions achieves the best balance between the interests of the person, any risks and the legal duty of care
12. pass full and accurate information to those who have overall responsibility for maintaining the quality of service when organisational constraints unduly affect the service to be offered
13. actively encourage people and significant others to take a full and active part in the review process consistent with the person's wishes
14. identify and take account of the views of other service providers, agencies and practitioners who are in a position to comment knowledgeably on the effectiveness of the interventions
15. discuss and review the outcomes of the interventions and their effectiveness with people and significant others in an appropriate manner, level and pace
16. actively encourage people and significant others to offer their opinions on the interventions and suggest possible modifications
17. evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions in relation to the aims and goals agreed at the outset of the programme
18. reach agreement with people and significant others as to any changes which need to be made to the interventions
19. make accurate, legible and complete records of the review process and outcomes
20. share records of the review process, outcomes and agreements reached with those who need to know, consistent with organisational and legal requirements and agreements made with the person

Additional Information

This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health. This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004): Dimension: HWB7 Interventions and treatments