Therapeutic milieu perceptions of health care professionals and patients in psychiatric clinics

ABSTRACT Öztürk, S., Therapeutic Milieu Perceptions of Health Care Professionals and Patients in Psychiatric Clinics, Hacettepe University, Institute of Health Sciences Psychiatric Nursing Master Thesis, Ankara, 2018. In this study, determining the perception of therapeutic milieu of health care professionals and patients in psychiatric clinics was aimed. This descriptive research was carried out with 91 patients treated in the psychiatric clinic and 55 health care professionals. The data were collected using The Ward Atmosphere Scale and descriptive information form for the patients and health care professionals.The data were evaluated by using the descriptive statistics, "Mann-Whitney U-Test", "Kruskal-Wallis H-Test" method for comparing the measurement values of three or more independent samples, and Bonferroni Correction. In the study, it was determined that the patients perceive therapeutically the involvement, support, spontaneity, autonomy, practical orientation, personal problem orientation, anger and aggression, programme clarity subscales in more higher level than the health care professionals. It was observed that the perception of therapeutic milieu of the patients and health care professionals changes according to the descriptive features of them. The patients was determined to evaluate the positive manner and attitudes of the health care professionals, and the organisation of the environment positively, while evaluate the inadequacy of the physical environment and becoming distanced from their social lives negatively. The patients stated that the secure environment, and being welcomed insightfully and positively are therapeutical, while the patients that find the environment as being not therapeutical argued the lack of the ability of taking responsibility/drifting away the social environment. On the other hand, the health care professional described providing the socialization and learning, gaining to take responsibility/sense of achievement and self-confidence as therapeutical. As a result of our work, healthcare professionals are advised to plan activities, meetings, and other activities where patients can take responsibility,to give information about the environment to patient be made by considering the nature of the diseases and the individual characteristics of the patients and improve their therapeutic milieu interventions with both individual training and in-service training.