‘We didn’t realise how much we needed you'. Speech and language therapy provision in adult mental health settings

ABSTRACT

Objective

Communication is fundamental to mental health services for every patient, caregiver and clinician interaction. Without adequate communication skills, the aspiration to inclusion, engagement and recovery is likely to fail. Speech and language therapists provide specialist knowledge directly with patients, and indirectly via clinicians and caregivers. The objective of this study was to explore current UK provision and practice of speech and language therapists supporting working age adults with mental health conditions.

Method

A ten question online survey was shared on social media and sent to a network of speech and language therapists interested in mental health services in September 2019. Responses were analysed using descriptive statistics supported by free text survey responses.

Results

From survey closing in March 2020, 96 responses were received from across the four UK nations describing widely varying services. Respondents reported concerning gaps in SLT provision, other professions not understanding the SLT role, but over 75% of respondents reported multidisciplinary ways of working.

Discussion

Risks associated with communication impairment are often overlooked. The understanding of mental health professionals about the role of speech and language therapists is patchy. Highlighting awareness amongst the mental health workforce about communication impairment will improve access to treatment and care for all patients.

KEYWORDS:

• Mental health
• communication
• dysphagia
• multi-disciplinary working
• speech and language therapy/pathology

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data are not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research respondents. This survey covered a small population, general details are described in this manuscript to avoid identifying individual clinicians.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.