Fostering a culture of engagement: an evaluation of a 2-day training in solution-focused brief therapy for mental health workers.

The focus of mental health care has changed considerably in recent years, from an almost exclusive inpatient system of care to one where the majority of care is being delivered within the community. Arguably this has contributed to a reduction in the length of inpatient admissions. Therefore, there is a need to understand the ramifications that shorter admissions have on inpatient care and nursing practice. This paper reports on a study designed to test the knowledge and skill acquisition and self-reported application of solution-focused brief therapy by staff following a 2-day training. The study adopted a repeated measures design where participants' baseline knowledge was measured prior to the 2-day training and then at 3 and 6 months post-training. This study has demonstrated that the 2-day training was effective in increasing participants' reported knowledge and understanding of solution-focused brief therapy and their self-reported use of the techniques in routine clinical practice. In conclusion, this study has established that staff from a variety of professional and non-professional backgrounds can make good skill acquisition from a fairly modest training. Additionally, the current study has also highlighted the need for well-conducted large-scale trials of this potentially important technology.