"Vi møtes på tvers og ser hva vi kan få til sammen" - Ansattes erfaringer fra et tverrfaglig forum i psykisk helsearbeid

Artikkelen er basert på en kvalitativ studie av ansattes erfaringer med å delta i et faglig forum som skal bidra til god samhandling på tvers av ulike tjenester innen psykisk helsearbeid. Tre fokusgruppeintervju ble gjennomført i tverrfaglige grupper med fagansatte innen kommunalt psykisk helsearbeid og et distriktspsykiatrisk senter (DPS) i en norsk by. Fire erfaringsnære tema ble utviklet gjennom kvalitativ innholdsanalyse: 1) Gjensidig informasjon, 2) Koordinering av hjelpetilbud, 3) Læring og faglig utvikling og 4) Møtets form og struktur. Til slutt ble følgende overordnede (latente) tema identifisert: «Vi møtes på tvers og ser hva vi kan få til sammen»

Exploring the Potential for Use of Virtual Reality Technology in the Treatment of Severe Mental Illness Among Adults in Mid-Norway: Collaborative Research Between Clinicians and Researchers

Background: Virtual reality (VR) technology is not currently used in the treatment of severe mental health illness in Norway. Objective: We aimed to explore the potential of VR as a treatment for severe mental health illness in Norway, through collaborative research between clinicians and researchers. Methods: A collaborative research team was established, comprising researchers, the manager at a district psychiatric center, and the manager of the local municipal mental health service. An all-day workshop with eight clinicians—four from specialist mental health services and four from municipal mental health services—was conducted. The clinicians watched three different VR movies and after each one, they answered predefined questions designed to reflect their immediate thoughts about VR’s potential use in clinical practice. At the end of the workshop, two focus group interviews, each with four clinicians from each service level, were conducted. Results: VR technology in specialist services might be a new tool for the treatment of severe mental health illness. In municipal mental health services, VR might particularly be useful in systematic social training that would otherwise take a very long time to complete. Conclusions: We found substantial potential for the use of VR in the treatment of severe mental health illness in specialist and municipal mental health services. One of the uses of VR technology with the greatest potential was helping individuals who had isolated themselves and needed training in social skills and everyday activity to enable them to have more active social lives. VR could also be used to simulate severe mental illness to provide a better understanding of how the person with severe mental illness experiences their situation.publishedVersio

The institutional context of crisis. A study of the police response during the 22 July terror attacks in Norway

In this paper we address the institutional context of the police response during the 22 July terror attacks in Norway. Our analysis shows how institutionalized informal practices, established over time, influenced the police response during the attacks. The response presented challenges in terms of management of actor complexity (the number of actors involved and the need for coordination) and uncertainty. The importance of these dimensions is discussed based on the police's response during the terror attack in Oslo in 2011. Our analysis of the course of events shows that the resources dedicated to strategic management were marginalized during the event and that insufficient attention was directed towards intelligence and investigation. This contributed to an ineffective police effort to track and capture the perpetrator and prevent or respond to the secondary attack. This is similar to what is often found in hindsight investigations of crises. The aim of this paper is to contextualize and analyze these findings in light of the institutional context of the Norwegian police. Reports from exercises before and after the terror attack indicate that the marginalization of strategic work, intelligence and investigation has been and remains a persistent problem in the Norwegian police. Interviews indicate that there are informal aspects of the police organization regarding status and established conventions of what “proper police work” is about that explain how the observed inadequacies are deeply embedded in the organization. As such, the paper is not a study of a failure in crisis management, but rather the institutional patterns of action that make actions and decisions stand out as meaningful for the actors involved in dealing with situations of high complexity and uncertainty.acceptedVersio

Exploring the Potential for Use of Virtual Reality Technology in the Treatment of Severe Mental Illness Among Adults in Mid-Norway: Collaborative Research Between Clinicians and Researchers

Background: Virtual reality (VR) technology is not currently used in the treatment of severe mental health illness in Norway. Objective: We aimed to explore the potential of VR as a treatment for severe mental health illness in Norway, through collaborative research between clinicians and researchers. Methods: A collaborative research team was established, comprising researchers, the manager at a district psychiatric center, and the manager of the local municipal mental health service. An all-day workshop with eight clinicians—four from specialist mental health services and four from municipal mental health services—was conducted. The clinicians watched three different VR movies and after each one, they answered predefined questions designed to reflect their immediate thoughts about VR’s potential use in clinical practice. At the end of the workshop, two focus group interviews, each with four clinicians from each service level, were conducted. Results: VR technology in specialist services might be a new tool for the treatment of severe mental health illness. In municipal mental health services, VR might particularly be useful in systematic social training that would otherwise take a very long time to complete. Conclusions: We found substantial potential for the use of VR in the treatment of severe mental health illness in specialist and municipal mental health services. One of the uses of VR technology with the greatest potential was helping individuals who had isolated themselves and needed training in social skills and everyday activity to enable them to have more active social lives. VR could also be used to simulate severe mental illness to provide a better understanding of how the person with severe mental illness experiences their situation