Professional Culture of Mental Health Services Workers: A Meta-synthesis of Current Literature

Abstract

This paper attempts to define the construct of a professional culture of mental health services workers using a bottom-up approach to derive a theoretical construct from empirical data. A systematic search was conducted to identify qualitative studies on mental health staff. A final sample of 18 studies meeting quality requirements was synthesized using a meta-ethnographic approach. The results show that mental health services workers share some common elements of professional culture, such as the importance of an interpersonal relationship with users, the relevance of values in professional practice and the need to maintain a mindful and reflective attitude towards work.