Patients’ perspectives of interventions provided by Assistant Psychologists in Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Teams (CRHTTs)

A service evaluation was carried out to explore patients’ perspectives of interventions provided by Assistant Psychologists (APs) working in a Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team (CRHTT). Using a mixed-methods design, feedback was collected from patients who had engaged with the AP for low-level, short-term (typically 1–3 sessions), psychologically informed interventions. Quantitative results revealed positive results, with patients reporting that they felt listened to, with the AP being knowledgeable and understanding. Some patients noted that the number of sessions was not right for them, or that the length was not adequate to meet their needs, however these response frequencies were low. Qualitative results revealed five overarching themes: therapeutic relationship , making sense of current difficulties , psychological interventions , impact and experience of psychology sessions , improvements/limitations . Content analysis discovered positive perspectives from patients, with minimal improvements/limitations indicated, and provided further support for the implementation of APs within acute mental health services. Overall, further evaluation into patients’ perspectives of AP interventions utilising data collected from interviews would be advantageous.