Staff perspectives on conversations about romantic/intimate relationships in mental health social care services: a qualitative interview study

Romantic/intimate relationships are an important part of most peoples lives, including people with mental health problems. However, people with mental health problems continue to have little access to support around romantic/intimate relationships. This study aimed to investigate social care staff perspectives on supporting people with romantic/intimate relationships. We conducted 15 qualitative interviews with mental health social care staff to explore their views on supporting people using services with desired romantic/intimate relationships, facilitators and barriers to these conversations, and strategies to offer support in this area. We purposively recruited staff working in a range of social care roles and with varied demographic characteristics. Interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. We identified three primary themes. These related to (i) whether romantic/intimate relationship support should be offered; (ii) how romantic/intimate relationship support should be offered; and (iii) whether social care staff are the right people to offer this support. Overall, participants felt that romantic/intimate relationship support is important for the quality of life of people accessing services. However, they noted a lack of resources and training relating to romantic/intimate relationship support, and discussed some safeguarding concerns. Findings highlight the need for clear organisational policy and training to address staff concerns, and research to understand the perspectives of people using services on romantic/intimate relationship support. Teaser TextMost people value romantic/intimate relationships in their lives, including people who use mental health services. While people with mental health issues often report that they want support with relationships, they often do not have access to it. This study sought to understand why, by interviewing 15 mental health social care staff about their views on providing support around romantic/intimate relationships to people who use social care services. Staff generally agreed that relationship support is important for helping those who use mental health services to feel empowered and improve their quality of life. However, they expressed concerns about a lack of resources and training available to help them offer romantic/intimate relationship support. They also discussed ethical worries, including wanting to protect vulnerable people and what to do when working with people who have an offending history. Accordingly, organisations should develop clear policies and practical training to help staff gain skills and confidence in providing this support. There is also a need for future research to find out more about what service users themselves want and need in this area.