Angela Sweeney
Biographic Data
| ID | 6025701 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Angela Sweeney |
| GIVEN NAMES | Angela |
| FAMILY NAME | Sweeney |
| SIGNATURE | SWEENEY A |
| AFFILIATIONS | King's College London |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6020-7490 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 7 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2013 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Complex Trauma Survivors’ Experiences of Services and Support for Mental Health
In exploring survivors’ experiences of the wide range of services across settings that they sought for mental health support, this review synthesises experiences, facilitators and barriers encountered to help-seeking in adult survivors of complex trauma. We searched multiple databases including Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Applied Social Sciences Index, Web of Science, and PROQUEST.…
How Lived Experience Advisory Groups Contribute to the Design and Conduct of Mental Health Research
INTRODUCTION: The positive impact of patient and public involvement (PPI) on the relevance, accessibility and acceptability of mental health research is well documented. Much of this reporting comes from researchers; less is known about the perspectives of PPI contributors. We are interested in exploring which issues people with lived experience (LE) prioritise when reviewing mental health research, with a view to identifying some of the underlyi…
Institutional Abuse, Neglect and Harm in UK Community Mental Health Services
A broken system’? Service user definitions of avoidable social and psychological harm in mental health social care and recommendations for its minimization in England
Mental health social care (MHSC) is an under-researched area, with little investigation of avoidable social and psychological harm. Understanding this type of harm from service user perspectives is critical for identifying effective strategies for harm minimization. This survivor-controlled research aimed to generate a service user-defined model of avoidable social and psychological harm in community-based MHSC in England, and gather recommendati…
Examining the measurement of severity of intimate partner violence and its association to mental health outcomes
Introduction: The aims of this synthesis were to investigate the relationship between IPV severity and mental health outcomes and shed light to gaps and limitations in existing methodologies used to assess IPV severity and its association with mental health outcomes. Methods: We conducted a two-stage narrative synthesis of 76 studies. First, we identified IPV measures used in at least five studies, focusing on their variations and severity score …
Global Prevalence and Mental Health Outcomes of Intimate Partner Violence Among Women
The aim of this systematic review was to assess the magnitude of the association between types of intimate partner violence (IPV) and mental health outcomes and shed light on the large variation in IPV prevalence rates between low- to middle-income countries and high-income countries. The study is a systematic review and meta-analysis. The following databases were searched for this study: Cochrane, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to N…
At the Edge of Care
A range of professionals and services are often involved in supporting parents with mental health needs where there are child protection concerns. However, they do not always meet the needs of this population who tend to experience inadequate support and mistrust of services. This review aimed to synthesize parent and practitioner experiences of support for parents with both mental health needs and children’s social services involvement. We perfo…
What Are the Sociodemographic and Clinical Characteristics and Needs of Mothers Who Access Acute Postpartum Psychiatric Care and Have Children’s Social Care Involvement
Mothers with severe postpartum psychiatric diagnoses are more likely to have children’s social care involvement with their infants, but little is known about the needs or experiences of this group of women. With input from a lived experience advisory group, we carried out secondary analysis of data collected from 278 mother-infant dyads where the mother accessed acute psychiatric care in England or Wales postnatally. We explored the characteristi…
Service users’ experiences of social and psychological avoidable harm in mental health social care in England
Avoidable harm—that is, harm to service users caused by unsafe or improper interventions, practices or services and which could have been mitigated or prevented—is embedded in social care legislation and inspections. However, the concept of avoidable harm has largely been defined by policymakers, academics, practitioners, regulators and services, with little known about service users’ experiences of avoidable harm in practice. This survivor-contr…
Evaluation of a Collaborative Care Approach to Mental Health in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus
Background: Psychiatric and psychosocial co-morbidity is prevalent in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM). It is implicated in poor glycemic control, increased risk of diabetes-related complications and increased mortality. Aims: To identify existing pathways of secondary care between inpatient liaison psychiatry and endocrinology in a tertiary referral hospital and to evaluate and meet the mental health needs of patients attending the T1DM day servi…
The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on intimate partner violence and mental health
Survivor‐led guidelines for conducting trauma‐informed psychological therapy assessments
BACKGROUND: Psychological therapy assessments are a key point at which a person is accepted into a service or referred on. There is evidence of service users experiencing harm, dropping out of services and potentially experiencing poor outcomes because of inadequate assessment practices. Approaches to assessment tend to be developed by individual services, with a lack of research identifying what makes a good assessment. METHODS: This survivor-le…
Multidisciplinary research priorities for the Covid-19 pandemic
Balancing closeness and distance through identity enactment
Whilst encounters in psychology are typically experienced relationally, qualitative dyadic research in psychology is relatively rare. This study used qualitative dyadic research to understand psychological therapy assessments, exploring how experiences are actively created through situated, relational encounters. Seven dyads participated in qualitative semi-structured interviews, predominantly from services for trauma survivors. Thematic dyadic a…
A systematic review of qualitative studies of adults’ experiences of being assessed for psychological therapies
Who gets to study whom
This article explores the ways in which hidden biases against survivor research can emerge through the anonymity of peer review processes. We describe how this occurs in part because of an epistemological clash between the positivist science underpinning much mental health and psychiatric research, but also because of norms surrounding who has the right to study whom, norms that survivor research challenges. We conclude with some suggestions for …
A paradigm shift
Trauma-informed approaches emerged partly in response to research demonstrating that trauma is widespread across society, that it is highly correlated with mental health and that this is a costly public health issue. The fundamental shift in providing support using a trauma-informed approach is to move from thinking ‘What is wrong with you?’ to considering ‘What happened to you?’. This article, authored by trauma survivors and service providers, …
Trauma-informed mental healthcare in the UK
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe and explain trauma-informed approaches (TIAs) to mental health. It outlines evidence on the link between trauma and mental health, explains the principles of TIAs and their application in mental health and explores the extent to which TIAs are impacting in the UK. Design/methodology/approach The approach is a conceptual account of TIAs including a consideration of why they are important, what they …
Defining continuity of care from the perspectives of mental health service users and professionals
BACKGROUND: Continuity of care (COC) is central to the organization and delivery of mental health services. Traditional definitions have excluded service users, and this lack of involvement has been linked to poor conceptual clarity surrounding the term. Consequently, very little is known about the differences and similarities in the conceptualization of COC by mental health service users and professionals. OBJECTIVE: To explore and compare menta…
Hearing the voices of service user researchers in collaborative qualitative data analysis
BACKGROUND: Health research is frequently conducted in multi-disciplinary teams, with these teams increasingly including service user researchers. Whilst it is common for service user researchers to be involved in data collection--most typically interviewing other service users--it is less common for service user researchers to be involved in data analysis and interpretation. This means that a unique and significant perspective on the data is abs…
Continuity of care for carers of people with severe mental illness
INTRODUCTION: Continuity of care has been demonstrated to be important for service users and carer groups have voiced major concerns over disruptions of care. We aimed to assess the experienced continuity of care in carers of patients with both psychotic and non-psychotic disorders and explore its association with carer characteristics and psychological well-being. METHODS: Friends and relatives caring for two groups of service users in the care …
Who gets to study whom
This article explores the ways in which hidden biases against survivor research can emerge through the anonymity of peer review processes. We describe how this occurs in part because of an epistemological clash between the positivist science underpinning much mental health and psychiatric research, but also because of norms surrounding who has the right to study whom, norms that survivor research challenges. We conclude with some suggestions for …
Balancing closeness and distance through identity enactment
Whilst encounters in psychology are typically experienced relationally, qualitative dyadic research in psychology is relatively rare. This study used qualitative dyadic research to understand psychological therapy assessments, exploring how experiences are actively created through situated, relational encounters. Seven dyads participated in qualitative semi-structured interviews, predominantly from services for trauma survivors. Thematic dyadic a…
Hearing the voices of service user researchers in collaborative qualitative data analysis
BACKGROUND: Health research is frequently conducted in multi-disciplinary teams, with these teams increasingly including service user researchers. Whilst it is common for service user researchers to be involved in data collection--most typically interviewing other service users--it is less common for service user researchers to be involved in data analysis and interpretation. This means that a unique and significant perspective on the data is abs…
Continuity of care for carers of people with severe mental illness
INTRODUCTION: Continuity of care has been demonstrated to be important for service users and carer groups have voiced major concerns over disruptions of care. We aimed to assess the experienced continuity of care in carers of patients with both psychotic and non-psychotic disorders and explore its association with carer characteristics and psychological well-being. METHODS: Friends and relatives caring for two groups of service users in the care …
Trauma-informed mental healthcare in the UK
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe and explain trauma-informed approaches (TIAs) to mental health. It outlines evidence on the link between trauma and mental health, explains the principles of TIAs and their application in mental health and explores the extent to which TIAs are impacting in the UK. Design/methodology/approach The approach is a conceptual account of TIAs including a consideration of why they are important, what they …
Defining continuity of care from the perspectives of mental health service users and professionals
BACKGROUND: Continuity of care (COC) is central to the organization and delivery of mental health services. Traditional definitions have excluded service users, and this lack of involvement has been linked to poor conceptual clarity surrounding the term. Consequently, very little is known about the differences and similarities in the conceptualization of COC by mental health service users and professionals. OBJECTIVE: To explore and compare menta…
A paradigm shift
Trauma-informed approaches emerged partly in response to research demonstrating that trauma is widespread across society, that it is highly correlated with mental health and that this is a costly public health issue. The fundamental shift in providing support using a trauma-informed approach is to move from thinking ‘What is wrong with you?’ to considering ‘What happened to you?’. This article, authored by trauma survivors and service providers, …
A systematic review of qualitative studies of adults’ experiences of being assessed for psychological therapies
Who gets to study whom
This article explores the ways in which hidden biases against survivor research can emerge through the anonymity of peer review processes. We describe how this occurs in part because of an epistemological clash between the positivist science underpinning much mental health and psychiatric research, but also because of norms surrounding who has the right to study whom, norms that survivor research challenges. We conclude with some suggestions for …
Multidisciplinary research priorities for the Covid-19 pandemic
Balancing closeness and distance through identity enactment
Whilst encounters in psychology are typically experienced relationally, qualitative dyadic research in psychology is relatively rare. This study used qualitative dyadic research to understand psychological therapy assessments, exploring how experiences are actively created through situated, relational encounters. Seven dyads participated in qualitative semi-structured interviews, predominantly from services for trauma survivors. Thematic dyadic a…
The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on intimate partner violence and mental health
Survivor‐led guidelines for conducting trauma‐informed psychological therapy assessments
BACKGROUND: Psychological therapy assessments are a key point at which a person is accepted into a service or referred on. There is evidence of service users experiencing harm, dropping out of services and potentially experiencing poor outcomes because of inadequate assessment practices. Approaches to assessment tend to be developed by individual services, with a lack of research identifying what makes a good assessment. METHODS: This survivor-le…
At the Edge of Care
A range of professionals and services are often involved in supporting parents with mental health needs where there are child protection concerns. However, they do not always meet the needs of this population who tend to experience inadequate support and mistrust of services. This review aimed to synthesize parent and practitioner experiences of support for parents with both mental health needs and children’s social services involvement. We perfo…
What Are the Sociodemographic and Clinical Characteristics and Needs of Mothers Who Access Acute Postpartum Psychiatric Care and Have Children’s Social Care Involvement
Mothers with severe postpartum psychiatric diagnoses are more likely to have children’s social care involvement with their infants, but little is known about the needs or experiences of this group of women. With input from a lived experience advisory group, we carried out secondary analysis of data collected from 278 mother-infant dyads where the mother accessed acute psychiatric care in England or Wales postnatally. We explored the characteristi…
Service users’ experiences of social and psychological avoidable harm in mental health social care in England
Avoidable harm—that is, harm to service users caused by unsafe or improper interventions, practices or services and which could have been mitigated or prevented—is embedded in social care legislation and inspections. However, the concept of avoidable harm has largely been defined by policymakers, academics, practitioners, regulators and services, with little known about service users’ experiences of avoidable harm in practice. This survivor-contr…
Evaluation of a Collaborative Care Approach to Mental Health in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus
Background: Psychiatric and psychosocial co-morbidity is prevalent in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM). It is implicated in poor glycemic control, increased risk of diabetes-related complications and increased mortality. Aims: To identify existing pathways of secondary care between inpatient liaison psychiatry and endocrinology in a tertiary referral hospital and to evaluate and meet the mental health needs of patients attending the T1DM day servi…
Examining the measurement of severity of intimate partner violence and its association to mental health outcomes
Introduction: The aims of this synthesis were to investigate the relationship between IPV severity and mental health outcomes and shed light to gaps and limitations in existing methodologies used to assess IPV severity and its association with mental health outcomes. Methods: We conducted a two-stage narrative synthesis of 76 studies. First, we identified IPV measures used in at least five studies, focusing on their variations and severity score …
Global Prevalence and Mental Health Outcomes of Intimate Partner Violence Among Women
The aim of this systematic review was to assess the magnitude of the association between types of intimate partner violence (IPV) and mental health outcomes and shed light on the large variation in IPV prevalence rates between low- to middle-income countries and high-income countries. The study is a systematic review and meta-analysis. The following databases were searched for this study: Cochrane, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to N…
Institutional Abuse, Neglect and Harm in UK Community Mental Health Services
A broken system’? Service user definitions of avoidable social and psychological harm in mental health social care and recommendations for its minimization in England
Mental health social care (MHSC) is an under-researched area, with little investigation of avoidable social and psychological harm. Understanding this type of harm from service user perspectives is critical for identifying effective strategies for harm minimization. This survivor-controlled research aimed to generate a service user-defined model of avoidable social and psychological harm in community-based MHSC in England, and gather recommendati…
Complex Trauma Survivors’ Experiences of Services and Support for Mental Health
In exploring survivors’ experiences of the wide range of services across settings that they sought for mental health support, this review synthesises experiences, facilitators and barriers encountered to help-seeking in adult survivors of complex trauma. We searched multiple databases including Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Applied Social Sciences Index, Web of Science, and PROQUEST.…
How Lived Experience Advisory Groups Contribute to the Design and Conduct of Mental Health Research
INTRODUCTION: The positive impact of patient and public involvement (PPI) on the relevance, accessibility and acceptability of mental health research is well documented. Much of this reporting comes from researchers; less is known about the perspectives of PPI contributors. We are interested in exploring which issues people with lived experience (LE) prioritise when reviewing mental health research, with a view to identifying some of the underlyi…
Mental health (15 works) · Psychology (14 works) · Medicine (12 works) · Psychiatry (11 works) · Nursing (9 works) · Mental Health and Patient Involvement (7 works) · Political science (6 works) · Psychiatric care and mental health services (6 works) · Business (5 works) · Computer Science (5 works)