title: Multidisciplinary mental health teams.
abstract: This study surveyed current practice amongst 91 Indian and Australian staff working within multidisciplinary mental health teams, looking at leadership skills, conflict resolution and therapeutic abilities. Length of training was associated with management skills, though these skill were more developed by psychiatric nurses and occupational therapists working in community settings. Hospital settings involved less consensual decision-making than community teams. Psychiatric nurses spent most time in clinical work, and occupational therapists were rated as less skilled in the therapeutic activities assessed than any other profession. Psychiatrists and clinical psychologists undertook most research. The activities assessed in this study could be undertaken by a team comprising psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses and social workers, with clinical psychologists employed where possible, especially for research or service evaluation.
authors.affiliation: PRiSM, Psychiatric Research in Service Measurement, Institute of Psychiatry, London, England.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Slade
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shankar
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007857:Leadership; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D010348:Patient Care Team