Professional relationships during crisis interventions: A scoping review

Area of Science:

• Mental Health
• Psychology
• Social Work

Background:

• Crises are overwhelming subjective experiences where professional support is sought.
• The professional relationship is vital in crisis management, but under-researched in outpatient settings.
• Outpatient crisis interventions, such as home treatment teams, require further empirical evidence on relational dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore descriptions of supportive professional relationships in outpatient crisis interventions.
• To identify evidence types, map key concepts, and highlight research gaps in the empirical literature.
• To synthesize existing research on the professional relationship within crisis intervention.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted across MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Social Science Citation Index.
• Included studies reported empirical data on adult (18+) crisis interventions (short-term, outpatient, voluntary).
• Qualitative content analysis was used to synthesize findings from the included studies.

Main Results:

• Out of 3,741 records, only 8 met the eligibility criteria, with one study directly focusing on the professional relationship.
• The literature covered strategies, influencing factors, and the nature of supportive relationships.
• Perspectives were predominantly from professionals (5 studies), with fewer from service users (2 studies) and one examining both.

Conclusions:

• A significant gap exists in understanding the nature of supportive professional relationships from the service user's viewpoint.
• Further research is needed on how professionals actively construct these supportive relationships in outpatient crisis care.
• The findings underscore the need for more service-user-centered research in this domain.