Anna Tickle

University of Nottingham | Notts · Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology

Purpose 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. Design/methodology/approach Using a pre-post design, the PIEs Assessment and Self-Developm...

Background Narrative exposure therapy (NET) is a trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy, recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in 2018, to treat posttraumatic stress disorder in adults. There is a lack of research exploring the effectiveness of NET with adults with intellectual disabilities. The aim of this stud...

Introduction: The present review aimed to establish prevalence rates of anxiety and depression in adults with haematology cancer, with a focus on the differences between patients under treatment and patients under watchful waiting. Method: Five databases (Scopus, Medline, PsycINFO, EThOS, CINAHL) were searched throughout June 2021. Key search te...

Purpose This study aims to share reflections on psychologically informed practice and research that has taken place within Opportunity Nottingham and in collaboration with local hostels and agencies. This study conveys a call to action to all stakeholders not to be complacent, but to use learning from Fulfilling Lives as a foundation for future dev...

Narrative exposure therapy (NET) is a trauma‐focused cognitive behavioural therapy, recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in 2018, to treat posttraumatic stress disorder in adults. There is a lack of research exploring the effectiveness of NET with adults with intellectual disabilities. The aim of this study is to dev...

Clergy have an emotionally taxing role and are suggested to experience high rates of distress. Prior research suggests clergy utilise religious coping skills and may underutilise support. This study aimed to explore clergy experiences of role-demands, coping, and support, to supplement previous findings, and guide intervention. Nine clergy members...

People with “severe and multiple disadvantages” (SMD) experience a combination of homelessness, mental health difficulties, alcohol or substance misuse and offending. Despite frequent and cyclical traumatic experiences being commonplace, people who experience SMD are often excluded from appropriate psychotherapeutic support. Two pilot projects whic...

Objective: To systematically review evidence regarding prevalence and choices of disclosure of psychological distress, by mental health professionals within the workplace. Methods: Six databases were searched in June 2020. Studies were included if they were published in English language and included empirical quantitative, qualitative or mixed-m...

There is a growing trend of adult diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Research has found that diagnosis can prompt a process of sense-making which may be disrupted by lack of post-diagnostic support. Given the continued involvement of many parents in supporting their adult son or daughter with ASD, it is vital to understand their experienc...

The misuse of substances is often maintained by both physical and psychological factors. Opioid-substitution medications manage physical aspects of addiction; however, difficulties with emotional regulation and avoidance perpetuate continued substance misuse. In the UK, individuals who misuse substances are often excluded from mental health service...

Purpose Extant literature exploring service user (SU) involvement in clinical psychology training has been limited by its sampling from singular training programmes and its restricted application of psychological theory. This research seeks to counter limitations by exploring SUs’ experiences across multiple clinical psychology training programmes...

Burns injuries can affect both adults and children. They can cause severe and enduring physical and psychological consequences, for both the individual and their family. Changes to appearance are a fundamental part of a burn injury. Medical tattooing (MT) is an intervention designed to address appearance/body dissatisfaction. Systematic Review: a s...

Introduction Physical changes to appearance caused by burn injuries can have significant psychological consequences. Medical tattooing is an intervention aimed at restoring appearance but little is known about the experiences of patients or the psychological impact of medical tattooing following burns. This study aimed to explore burn patients’ psy...

Purpose Implementing trauma informed care (TIC) for individuals facing homelessness and multiple disadvantage is proposed to help both service users and staff work effectively and therapeutically together. However, the effectiveness of implementing TIC via training is debatable. This study aims to explore the effects of a four-day TIC and psycholog...

Purpose This study aims to understand how staff in homelessness services conceptualise readiness for change in the individuals they support and how this informs their decision-making in practice. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative design was used. Ten staff members participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were examined through induc...

Objectives Cancer patients in supportive relationships display improved health and survival outcomes. Identifying factors that might respond to intervention for Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) dyads is important as HNC patients and their partners experience heightened distress. This article systematically reviewed and evaluated the research findings and...

Harmful sexual behaviour by young people against their peers is a significant issue. Pressure is placed upon professionals responsible for the care and treatment of young people who exhibit harmful sexual behaviour, yet no systematic exploration of the impact of this work has been conducted. This review uses meta-ethnography to synthesise professio...

Purpose Recent intervention research for burnout amongst those working in health and social care contexts has found Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) interventions to be of use but has provided less clarity on the role of Psychological Flexibility (a key ACT construct). This study further evaluated the usefulness of ACT for burnout and work‐e...

Purpose The purpose of this systematic review was to address two questions: what is the qualitative evidence for the effects of the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) training, as perceived by adults with mental health difficulties using it? What is the quality of qualitative literature evaluating WRAP? Design/methodology/approach Five electroni...

This study explored the implementation of psychological team formulation in two single-gender hostels for homeless individuals experiencing multiple complex needs. Nine hostel staff took part in two semi-structured interviews, before and after attending up to eight formulation meetings. Thematic analysis identified that staff perceived team formula...

Objectives This study aimed to explore whether clinical psychologists in the United Kingdom (UK) have a role with their clients’ psychotropic medication by exploring forms of involvement undertaken, and decision‐making behind involvement. Design A mixed methods design was employed; 147 clinical psychologists took part in an online survey, and 11 r...

Background: Care staff supporting people with intellectual disabilities (PWID) report accepting views on PWID's sexual expression, but people with intellectual disabilities report their sexual expression is restricted by care staff. Methods: We recruited a panel of 17 UK clinical psychologists experienced in helping care staff support PWID's sex...

Purpose The involvement of service users within clinical psychology training is written into policy. However, the practice of evaluating involvement from both trainees’ and service users’ viewpoint is minimal. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate recent service user involvement in psychometrics and formulation teaching on a clinical psychology...

Background: Transition between Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and Adult Mental Health Services (AMHS) can be stressful for the young person and family alike. Previous reviews have focused on specific aspects of transition or perspectives of young people, or have not used systematic approaches to data identification and analysi...

Objective: The Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) is a structured approach to illness self-management that is widely used within mental health services. This systematic review identifies, appraises, and meta-analyzes quantitative evidence from experimental or quasi-experimental comparison group designs for effects of WRAP on measures reflecting...

Numerous physical and psychological challenges are recognised as consequences of head and neck cancer and its treatment, but little is known about how patients adjust psychologically to these experiences. This study aimed to develop a theoretical understanding of the processes patients engage in when adjusting to head and neck cancer. Twelve patien...

Discovery awareness (DA) is an approach to using video within structured meetings to help staff become more mindful, aware and interested in a client they are supporting who has intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour. The objective was to evaluate whether, and how, DA is helpful for staff in both inpatient and community settings, and w...

The purpose of this article is to systematically identify, appraise and synthesise qualitative research concerning UK parents’ experiences of their child receiving a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. In total, 11 articles were located through a systematic search of five databases, reference lists, citations and grey literature. These were crit...

Background: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is commonly thought of as a "childhood" disorder but is increasingly recognized as affecting adults. The aim of this study was to explore the psychological impact of receiving a diagnosis of ADHD in adulthood. Method: A qualitative study was conducted. Twelve adults (seven male, five femal...

Background: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is commonly thought of as a "childhood" disorder but is increasingly recognized as affecting adults. The aim of this study was to explore the psychological impact of receiving a diagnosis of ADHD in adulthood. Method: A qualitative study was conducted. Twelve adults (seven male, five femal...

Objectives: The objective of this review was to identify, appraise and synthesise qualitative research that explores the experience of the disclosure of a dementia diagnosis from the perspectives of clinicians, patients and carers. Method: A systematic search of four databases, grey literature and reference lists identified 13 studies, which met...

Objectives: Existing literature demonstrates that nurses’ understanding of behaviours in dementia influences their responses to persons with dementia. However, there is limited research on the psychological processes involved in how nurses make sense of the behaviours and how these impact on responding, and a dearth of such literature from inpatien...

Purpose: Nurses working in acute mental-health services are vulnerable to occupational stress. One stressor identified is the challenging behaviour of some service users (Jenkins and Elliott, 2004). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the discourses drawn on by nurses to understand challenging behaviour and talk about its management. Design/met...

Purpose Work-related stress amongst staff working in direct care roles in mental health and intellectual disability settings is associated with a range of problematic outcomes. There has been a proliferation of research into the use of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)-based interventions in this staff population. The purpose of this paper is...

The aims of this review were to systematically identify, critically appraise and synthesize the results of existing qualitative literature exploring the views and experiences of intimate relationships amongst people with intellectual disabilities. Fourteen peer-reviewed articles were identified through a systematic search of eight databases, refere...

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of psychological interventions in improving quality of life for head and neck cancer patients. Five databases were systematically searched in July 2016. Studies were included if they reported original empirical data from intervention studies utilising psychological approac...

Purpose: To identify, appraise, and synthesize findings from qualitative studies of individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder who have experienced dialectical behaviour therapy, to gain further understanding of their perceptions of the process and impact of therapy. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive systematic search of the...

Objective: Individuals diagnosed with head and neck cancer (HNC) are at an elevated risk of experiencing psychological distress and a reduced quality of life. The aim of this review was to systematically examine and assess the quality of empirical evidence on the associations between coping mechanisms and psychological distress among people with H...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how those engaged in service user involvement (SUI) initiatives perceive involvement and recovery; whether involvement is related to their recovery process and, if so, how. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory qualitative method, social constructionist grounded theory, was adopted throughout...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to conduct a systematic search of the peer-reviewed qualitative literature investigating the lived experience of seclusion for adults with mental health difficulties, to appraise the quality of the existing literature and synthesise findings. Background: seclusion is a controversial intervention for the short-t...

We surveyed service users, carers and staff who contribute to involvement in clinical psychology training programmes in the UK about involvement activity and their attitudes towards this. We found generally positive attitudes towards involvement not reflected in activity levels.

Purpose Peer support (PS) workers are being employed despite uncertain evidence for clinical and cost-effectiveness. Psychological theories have been proposed to explain the mechanisms of PS but these lack empirical validation and specificity to professional PS. The purpose of this paper is to develop a substantive interpretive grounded theory of s...

Objective: To systematically review the literature on published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for adult ADHD and to establish the effectiveness of CBT in reducing ADHD symptoms. Method: A systematic review of nine RCTs and two subsequent meta-analyses of eight of the studies were conducted. Results:...

Objectives: This study used the grounded theory to explore parents’ views of the transition into adulthood of their child with a severe intellectual disability. The study also sought to explore the processes that parents engage in for making psychological adjustments, to appreciate their role during this transition. This study is imperative for dev...

Studies have highlighted successful outcomes of psychological therapies for people with intellectual disabilities. However, processes underlying these outcomes are uncertain. Thematic analysis was used to explore the perceptions of three clinical psychologists, six clients and six carers of barriers and facilitators to therapeutic change for people...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to systematically identify, appraise and synthesise qualitative research into how working as a peer support worker (PSW) affects personal recovery. Design/methodology/approach – Ten articles were identified through a systematic search of seven databases, grey literature, reference lists, citations and contact...

Objective: The current study sought to explore how, if at all, people construct an understanding of the origin and maintenance of their experience of hearing voices. Method: A social constructionist grounded theory method was adopted throughout the research process. Eight voice hearers, who were distressed by this experience, were recruited and...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to measure service user and staff views of the recovery orientation of three mental health rehabilitation units; two “open” and one “locked”. It identified elements of recovery that were important to service users. It measured the units’ performance on domains of recovery, attending to differences between staf...

Aims and method To explore service users’ experiences of receiving a diagnosis of schizophrenia and the stigma associated with the diagnostic label. Seven participants were interviewed about their perceptions of these experiences. Interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results Five superordinate themes resulted fro...

Purpose – There has been extensive growth in the employment of mental health peer support workers (PSWs) over the last decade. However, limited research exists when exploring how PSWs make sense of the transition of entering and enacting the role. The purpose of this paper is to explore the lived experience of NHS employed PSWs’ transition from the...

Objectives: This article critically reviewed empirical studies identifying factors that may influence parental stress when caring for a child with an intellectual disability. Understanding the factors influencing parental stress is important for several reasons, which include improving parental/child quality of life, supporting parental needs, and...

Objectives This study sought to explore the views of clinical psychologists towards the concepts of risk' and recovery' and to set those views against the context of mental health services. DesignAn exploratory, social constructionist grounded theory methodology was adopted. Methods Eleven clinical psychologists working in adult mental health servi...

Objective: The objective of this review was to identify and synthesise existing qualitative literature relating to the meaning of work for individuals experiencing serious mental health problems, with particular reference to their recovery. Method: A systematic literature search and appraisal identified six qualitative studies to be reviewed. These...

Purpose – The Mental Health Recovery Star (MHRS) has received focus at a national policy level in consideration of outcome measurement within mental health services. The purpose of this paper is to seek the views of mental health professionals about its use within clinical practice. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employed a qualitative, e...

The purpose of this review was to identify, appraise, and synthesize the current peer-reviewed qualitative literature which explores the phenomenon of hearing voices from a first person perspective. A comprehensive systematic search of the literature was conducted. Seven studies utilizing various qualitative methodologies met the criteria to be inc...

This article briefly considers service user involvement in the training of mental health professionals before providing an outline of one involvement initiative within clinical psychology training. A service user and trainee who participated then offer their reflections on the experience.

Purpose There is much literature regarding the involvement of service users in the training of mental health professionals, yet there are few specific examples of such initiatives. This paper aims to report an innovative way of involving service users via DVDs in the teaching psychological formulation on the Trent Clinical Psychology Doctorate prog...

There are several treatment options for conversion disorder, but none have emerged as a treatment of choice. This case report describes one woman's experiences of conversion disorder and the multidisciplinary and multi-agency care plan developed to meet her needs. It offers reflections from the perspective of staff and the patient herself about whi...

This article summarises an evaluation of two programmes of 'stand-alone'groups run on two acute inpatient wards. We conclude that such groups can be useful for individuals requiring inpatient treatment, including those with psychosis.

The training of future mental health professionals offers one avenue of change to improve service user and carer involvement in mental health services. This study looked at experiences of trainees on the University of Surrey's Clinical Psychology Doctorate programme in involving service users and carers on training placements. Twenty trainees compl...

This article offers a personal perspective upon a one-day conference on Appreciative Inquiry for Applied Psychologists.

It is well known that a person's self-esteem has a great impact on their general mood and performance and that low self-esteem can lead to depression and social isolation. Yet, the author argues, raising self-esteem is rarely the prime target of interventions. In this paper, Anna Tickle describes weekly group sessions to enhance the self-esteem of...