Tackling the erosion of compassion in acute mental health services

A series of undercover investigations in 2022 exposed instances of serious abuse in UK mental health facilities. Service users were observed being verbally humiliated, subjected to unnecessary seclusion and excessive restraint, and dragged down corridors by members of staff.1 Although extreme, these incidents reflect a broader pattern of failures in compassion in acute mental health services across the UK. Even before the extra pressures of the covid-19 pandemic, a 2018 ombudsman report, based on more than 200 sources, identified persistent shortcomings in the ability of mental health services to treat service users with kindness, dignity, and respect.2 Prominent service user organisations have highlighted low levels of compassion,345 and similar issues have been identified by mental health staff, academics, and the psychiatric survivor movement.678Compassion is a complex concept spanning several areas of thought, such as psychology, philosophy, and Buddhist practice. British clinical psychologist and the founder of compassion focused therapy, Paul…
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