Exploring Implementation of Psychological Approaches by Multidisciplinary Health Professionals.

Literature Review
Psychological therapies are widely used to support people with distress, but there are often barriers to accessing them. There is growing interest in healthcare teams delivering care informed by psychological principles to support wellbeing. The review examined if non-psychology healthcare staff can deliver interventions informed by acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) or cognitive behavioural therapy and explored mechanisms of change.
Searches of three databases identified twenty-eight studies. The studies used a range of methods. The findings were synthesised to look at how non-psychology healthcare staff can deliver psychologically informed care. There were five themes: ‘feasibility of interventions’, ‘functional outcomes over symptom reduction’, ‘understanding mechanisms of change’, ‘psychological principles supporting more holistic and connected care experiences’ and ‘barriers to implementation’. Findings showed successful implementation but also identified barriers related to aspects of care resulting in change and systemic barriers. Future research should use standardised outcome measures to enable quantitative synthesis such as meta-analysis.

Empirical Project
Motor neuron disease (MND) is a life-limiting neurodegenerative condition, with no known cure. Research has shown that ACT is effective in supporting the psychological wellbeing of people with MND (pwMND). However, barriers within systems limit access. This research aimed to understand how able and confident non-psychology professionals are to implement ACT in practice.

We recruited twelve healthcare professionals working in roles with pwMND. Thematic analysis developed three themes: ‘unknowing alignment with ACT principles’, ‘barriers to ACT use’ and ‘the role of ongoing adjustment and engagement within care’. Findings were mapped onto the capability, opportunity, motivation model of behaviour change, to understand changes required for ACT to be embedded into practice. Participants described some aspects of capability, opportunity and motivation to implement ACT in their work, but described barriers. Future research should explore practical aspects of interventions led by non-psychology professionals, such as training needs.