Counselling support for critically ill patients and their families following a critical care experience: a qualitative study

Background Patients recovering from the critical illness and their family members can suffer significant psychological distress affecting activity of daily living, family relationship, social participation and professional life. There are few initiatives where the psychological interventions were provided to patients and family group which have shown significantly beneficial impact on psychological health. However, there is a limited number of studies that address the psychological needs of patients, family members and bereaved family members with critical care experience. Objectives The aim of this study was to explore patients’, family members’ and bereaved family members’ experiences of counselling provision. Methods We conducted a qualitative study in three Scottish Intensive care units (ICU) between 2015-2017. Counselling service was provided to former ICU patients and their family members, including those bereaved following a critical illness experience by a qualified, professionally accredited counsellor who had a background in Intensive Care nursing. Participants self-referred to the service. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore participants’ experience of accessing the counselling service, their expectations and experiences of the counselling sessions, and their recommendations for future development. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Data reporting was done using Consolidated Criteria for reporting qualitative research checklist (COREQ). Results All twelve participants (Patients n= 3, Family members n = 7 and Bereaved family members n=2) considered their overall experience of the counselling support positive. Four key themes were identified: perceived benefits, feasibility, appraisal and context of care. Conduit to resilience, enhanced coping, relief through disclosure, maintaining family relationship and individualised support were the main perceived benefits experienced by participants. The nurse-counsellor’s counselling expertise and critical care background ...