Explanations for stress and satisfaction in mental health professionals: a qualitative study

High levels of burnout and poor psychological well-being, but also relatively high levels of job satisfaction, have been found among mental health staff, especially those based in community settings.

In order to investigate the basis of these findings, a qualitative interview study was carried out, exploring mental health staff's views of their work and of its effects on them.

A semi-structured interview was administered to a purposive sample of 30 professionals, including junior and senior members of each profession in both hospital and community settings. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using QSR NUD.IST software.

For most professionals, contact with colleagues was one of the major rewards of the job. There was surprisingly little evidence of conflict or difficulties defining roles between disciplines, except for the social workers, for whom difficulty in defining roles in relation to other professions was a major preoccupation. Reported stresses differed between community and hospital staff. Community staff tended to find their contacts with patients highly rewarding, but also to feel burdened by a strong and uncomfortable sense of being constantly responsible for their clients' well-being and actions. Ward staff, on the other hand, identified as central difficulties in their job lack of autonomy, responsibility and scope for developing an independent therapeutic role. They felt demoralised by revolving door' patients and by violence and the need to restrain patients.