Why should they miss out? Exploring Australian psychologists’ perspectives on providing therapy for clients with acquired brain injury

Objective Acquired brain injury (ABI) may lead to psychological distress, such as suicidal ideation and mental health disorders. However, emerging evidence on therapy barriers suggests that psychologists may find it difficult to work with people who live with ABIs. Research to date has rarely consulted psychologists to understand their perspective on therapy barriers and their willingness to work with this client group.Method To address this gap, the current study conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 Australian psychologists to provide preliminary insight into psychologists’ beliefs about working with this client group.Results Through reflexive thematic analysis, the researchers produced a thematic map to represent psychologist perspectives, which highlighted the following barriers: the design of tertiary education pathways, the absence of hospital work experience, scepticism about professional development training, the lack of support in private practice, clinician beliefs about client complexity, and clinician beliefs about their personal suitability.Conclusions To increase psychologists’ willingness to work with this client group, the researchers suggest further exploration of the role of postgraduate training, psychologist attitudes towards professional development opportunities, and a larger study to extend findings into specific barriers identified by this study.