[Triadic mirror meetings; experiences of clients, relatives and care professionals].

Abstract

Background: The care for service users with severe mental illness is evolving. In this, feedback is indispensable for improving quality. At four locations for long-term inpatient treatment in Amsterdam, triadic mirror meetings have been implemented, in which service users and family give feedback on received care in a group discussion. To evaluate this method, we conducted a qualitative study.

Aim: To investigate the experiences of service users, family and healthcare professionals who participated in the mirror meetings.

Method: Service users, family and healthcare professionals participated in a semi-structured interview about their experiences with the mirror meeting. The interviews were analyzed thematically.

Results: The experiences of service users, family and healthcare professionals with mirror meetings in the triad were positive: they mentioned an increase in understanding of everyone’s perspective and a sense of equality, connection and shared learning. Service users and family also mentioned obstacles, such as insufficient preparation and lack of time.

Conclusion: Triadic mirror meetings with service users and family are a useful method in long-term clinical care to collect feedback and improve the quality of care in an atmosphere of joint learning.