The System’s Impact on Mental Health Professionals: Clinical Psychologists’ Experiences in Adult Acute Inpatient Services and Clinician Burnout

Sideri, Athena Despoina (2025) The System’s Impact on Mental Health Professionals: Clinical Psychologists’ Experiences in Adult Acute Inpatient Services and Clinician Burnout. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

Introduction: System pressures impact both staff wellbeing and care quality. This thesis portfolio explored staff’s experiences of burnout within mental health services in the National Health Service (NHS) and how this impacts care delivery. The systematic review and meta-analysis explored the prevalence and risk factors of burnout among mental health professionals. The empirical study looked into the experiences of Clinical Psychologists, a profession whose role lies within team leadership and staff support, in adult acute inpatient services when working with people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to explore the prevalence of burnout among mental health professionals in the NHS. Relevant risk factors were explored and narratively synthesised. The empirical study involved semi-structured interviews with Clinical Psychologists working in acute inpatient mental health services. Interviews were analysed using reflexive Thematic Analysis.

Results: The systematic review and meta-analysis highlighted that burnout continues to be prevalent among mental health staff in the NHS. Relevant risk factors were both individual and organisational, with an emphasis on the latter. The empirical study identified three main themes: ‘delivering compartmentalised tasks’, ‘containing a system riddled with complexity and dissonance’, and ‘shifting the culture around the Personality Disorder diagnosis’.

Discussion: The thesis portfolio highlights the different needs across the layers of the system, including service users with BPD, mental health staff, and NHS services. Staff members working in NHS mental health services and with service users with BPD are trying to manage the wider system’s pressures. Clinical Psychologists experience moral distress and dissonance when supporting staff members, and particularly in their work with people with BPD.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	30 Oct 2025 09:33
Last Modified:	31 Oct 2025 07:31
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/100851
DOI:

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