Prehab topics
Find out more about the eight key risk factors by visiting our Prehab topics pages.
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Psychological wellbeing
Enjoy the knowledge check, watch our video and download top tips for your patients. Keep scrolling to see the research and useful signposts…
“Mental health is not a destination but a process. It’s about how you drive, not where you’re going.”
Noam Shpancer
Professor of Psychology
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Watch our video
Patients’ psychological wellbeing is commonly impacted by the stresses of a diagnosis.
Poor mental health
Let's look at outcomes...
Poor psychological wellbeing can lead to a range of negative consequences for patients preparing for treatment.
Short-term impacts
These include increased distress and anxiety, higher levels of stress, and difficulty with decision-making and informed consent processes.
Delayed recovery
Patients face increased potential complications, delayed recovery, reduced tolerance to pain and discomfit, and greater reliance on pain medication.
Disrupted sleep
Patients are more likely to have disrupted sleep patterns and compromised nutritional intake, leading to a weakened physical condition.
Longer-term impacts
These include persistent anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Patients may develop psychiatric conditions, or underlying conditions can get worse.
Reduced life quality
Patients’ ability to participate in daily activities and social relationships may be affected due to prolonged rehabilitation and physical therapy and impaired functional recovery.
Poorer outcomes
Poor psychological wellbeing can increase demand and cost for the healthcare system. It can also result in patients not adhering to follow-up care and rehabilitation protocols.
View our psychological wellbeing top tips for your patients here...
Improving psychological
wellbeing
Provide tailored support and interventions for patients with psychological difficulties to help them address their unique needs and concerns while they await treatment.
Psychoeducation and coping strategies
Provide information about the treatment itself, including potential challenges and expected outcomes.
Offer psychoeducation on relaxation techniques, breathing exercises, and mindfulness practices.
Teach coping strategies, such as cognitive restructuring, problem-solving skills, and positive self-talk.
Psychological
assessments
and support
Conduct comprehensive psychological assessments using validated screening tools.
Refer patients to mental health professionals for individual therapy, cognitive-behavioural interventions, and counselling.
Refer patients to mental health professionals for individual therapy, cognitive-behavioural interventions, and counselling.
Multidisciplinary collaboration
Engage in multidisciplinary collaboration to ensure coordinated care and support.
Participate in conferences and team meetings to discuss patient psychological needs, treatment plans and care strategies.
Participate in conferences and team meetings to discuss patient psychological needs, treatment plans and care strategies.
Community
and social support
Connect patients with community-based support services, peer support groups, and online forums with others who are facing similar challenges.
Facilitate communication with family members, caregivers and social networks to enhance patient social support.
Facilitate communication with family members, caregivers and social networks to enhance patient social support.
Regular monitoring
and follow-ups
Schedule regular follow-up appointments.
Offer ongoing support and encouragement, emphasising the importance of self-care and active participation in their recovery journey.
Offer ongoing support and encouragement, emphasising the importance of self-care and active participation in their recovery journey.
Brief advice and/or
interventions
Use interventions, such as the '5 As Framework' - Assess, Advise, Agree, Assist, Arrange.
Provide psychoeducation on stress management techniques, relaxation exercises and coping strategies.
Provide psychoeducation on stress management techniques, relaxation exercises and coping strategies.
Offer practical tips for improving psychological wellbeing.
Screening tools are designed to assess the presence and severity of psychological distress, including anxiety, depression and stress.
The Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7-item is a brief self-report questionnaire used to screen for generalised anxiety disorder. It consists of seven questions about symptoms experienced over the past two weeks.
The Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item Scale is a widely used screening tool for depression. It assesses nine symptoms of depression over the past two weeks.
The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale is a self-assessment scale that detects anxiety and depression in patients, consisting of seven items for each.
Simple questions can help to assess psychological distress. For example, asking patients “Have you been feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge?” can provide valuable insights into their emotional wellbeing.
Healthcare providers can also use clinical interviews and observations to assess a patient's psychological status. Strategies such as active listening, empathy, and rapport-building can help providers identify subtle signs of distress and initiate discussions about patients' emotional concerns.
Links
Signposting
You can refer patients to Medical Psychology within the hospital, if available. GPs may be able to refer them to local psychological therapies and counselling.
Click the tabs below
NHS Talking Therapies is available to help people improve their psychological wellbeing.
Click the links on the right to see the resources.
Various websites have been developed to help people improve their psychological wellbeing.
Click the links on the right to see the resources.
