Are there losses as well as gains from individualised inpatient care?

Background/Objectives: Personalisation of mental health care is seldom questioned but some aspects of inpatient experience may bring it into question. Mieke Verhaeghe and Piet Bracke investigated the stigma experiences of clients of mental health services in Flanders. One important finding was that more individualised treatment appears to inhibit the formation of a strong peer group and thus the creation of a positive group atmosphere on the ward. This implies that individualised treatment is antithetical to the creation of a good ward atmosphere. The Belgian data confirmed that peer support was associated with…