A qualitative exploration of communication within the community mental health team

This qualitative study sought to explore conceptual models employed by community mental health team (CMHT) staff in the care of their clients and how CMHT clinicians communicated with one another, particularly in relation to complex clinical work. The qualitative method of interpretive phenomenological analysis was used, and semistructured in-depth interviews with seven UK CMHT clinicians were conducted and analyzed. Four themes were evident in the data and showed that clinicians face complex and competing demands and draw on a range of therapeutic models in their work. It was also clear that much discussion centred primarily on pragmatic issues and lacked conceptual depth. The results underline the complex and challenging nature of CMHT work and suggest that a more systematic approach to interdisciplinary training within teams could be beneficial in increasing clinicians' knowledge, skills, and their understanding of the conceptual models used across different disciplines.