350 Supportive Observations

The undertaking of supportive observations is a key task within mental health care. It is not simply looking at someone.
Carrying out supportive observations is an important skill required by all colleagues.
We must be clear on the purpose of the supportive observation; we will use communication skills to engage with our service users, many of whom will have experienced trauma in their lives.
Using the therapeutic relationship we can work with the service user, focussing on their existing coping strategies and we can inform the ongoing risk assessment with our observations and feedback from the service user.
Information sharing is fundamental to delivering safe care for our service users.