Communication at the time of a mental health diagnosis

Background: The process of communication at the time of a mental health diagnosis is an important but under researched area in mental health settings. Aims: To understand the satisfaction levels, information requirements and support needs of people with a lived experience of diagnosis and what influences this. To explore what health professionals consider to be the barriers and facilitators to the communication process at the time of a mental health diagnosis. To synthesise strategies for support and best practice recommendations into a model of communication for use at the time of a mental health diagnosis. Methods: A systematic review (of 30 quantitative and qualitative papers), two qualitative studies (n=45 people with lived experience of diagnosis; n=19 health professionals) and two survey based quantitative studies (n=101 people with lived experience of diagnosis; n=131 health professionals) were undertaken. Results: There has been limited research into this area of mental health communication. The majority of individuals who experience a diagnosis want information; however, this is not always satisfactorily addressed. For clinicians, there was a lack of known specific health professional training programmes, and factors such as health professional background and confidence handling distress influenced beliefs and practice. Models of communication appraised by people with a lived experience of diagnosis were highly acceptable, however, consistently barriers, such as stigma and the need to address the changing circumstances of individuals, were identified as areas requiring further attention. The synthesised result is a more dynamic, multifaceted and less linear model of communication. Conclusion: Talking with an individual about a mental health diagnosis can be a non-linear, complex and changeable situation. The resulting model is offered to help further develop health professional communication training and support individuals at the time of mental health diagnosis.