Psychologically Informed Environments at Social Interest Group

 “…the definitive marker of a PIE is simply that, if asked why the unit is run in such and such a way, the staff would give an answer couched in terms of the emotional and psychological needs of the service users, rather than giving some more logistical or practical rationale, such as convenience, costs, or Health And Safety regulations”

Johnson and Haigh (2010)

Psychologically informed environments (PIE) is a framework for de-institutionalising support services and instead enabling best practice approaches that can facilitate safe spaces for recovery. At its heart, PIE is about creating a person-centred model that is flexible, informed by a psychological model that enables service staff to view service residents and participants in the context of their experience and life story.

At SIG, PIE framework combined with Trauma Informed Practice is integral to our approach to our service delivery. PIE enables us to take an intentional and well-informed approach to inclusive support provision in services. It also allows scope for the adaptable and developmental practice that is crucial to innovative and person-centred support.

PIE Principles

Taking a multi-disciplinary approach is foundational to PIE so any number of psychological approaches can be referenced and applied. A holistic approach to viewing and using all relevant elements of service as essential and invaluable tools is equally integral. Built environment and surroundings are seen as therapeutic tools, the design and layout of the service but also local green areas and cafes can be accessed for the benefit of residents and participants.

Staff are central to PIE. Training and equipping them with skills that enable them to support residents and participants in challenging and sometimes chaotic situations in a way that makes them feel they can manage their relationship in a compassionate and boundaried way, facilitates this.

In order for residents and participants to manage their relationships with the service and its staff, a PIE approach requires that services provide clarity about rules of engagement and expectations in terms of conditions for support and accommodation. The system, the institution and how it operates must be transparent across staff groups and service users so that effective evaluation by all stakeholders is possible.

PIE at SIG

Evaluation and reflection on practice bring PIE into a full and continuous cycle. Reviewing approaches and actions in the context of their impact on residents and participants helps to ensure outcome-oriented services. At SIG, our system for reporting accidents, incidents and near misses (AINMS) allows reviews from audit and compliance, best practice and operational teams so that service teams are supported through shared organisational expertise to move forward in shared learning and best practice.

AINMS learning informs organisation-wide policy and practice for the benefit of all teams, residents and participants. The AINMS process is an important guard against the tendency to shift into institutionalised ways of working.

Involving all staff, not just frontline, residents and participants to contribute to evaluation garners invaluable insights but also creates accountability for all stakeholders. It also fosters shared learning as people share their approaches and actions, and evaluate what works well, gaining fresh perspectives and contributions to their practice. This allows continuing professional development but also enables evidence-generating practice.

How empowering this can be for residents and participants is perhaps best demonstrated by them taking the step to apply their learning and understanding of PIE frameworks, by taking up employment opportunities in many of our services, across pathways from criminal justice to SMI. Their contribution to best practice and ability to encourage residents and participants to develop belief in their own re-enablement is invaluable to keeping our services successfully PIE.