Conceptualizing healthcare professionals' relational competence in mental healthcare: An integrative review

Introduction: The relationship between patients and mental health professionals is the cornerstone of all mental health treatment, and good patient-professional relationships are associated with several positive therapeutic outcomes for patients with mental health challenges. Mental health professionals' relational competence is essential for high-quality services in mental healthcare. There is currently no unified understanding of the concept of relational competence. This study seeks to address this gap by exploring how relational competence is conceptualized within the context of mental healthcare. The research question was: How is relational competence described in the research literature within the context of mental healthcare? Methods: An integrative review was conducted with systematic searches in the databases PsycInfo, Ovid Medline, Embase, CINAHL, ERIC, Academic Search Elite, IDUN, and Svemed+, spanning from January 2012 to October 2023, as well as hand searches in the reference lists of the included studies. A thematic synthesis was carried out based on the results in the included studies. Results: Out of 2970 scientific studies screened, 30 were included, employing a variety of research methodologies to explore relational competence within mental healthcare. Four themes were found to describe relational competence in mental healthcare: having the ability to self-reflect and self-regulate, having a genuine interest in understanding the patient, engaging in reciprocal interaction with the patient, and meeting the patient so that they feel acknowledged. Each theme describes a central and important part of relational competence, but fully developed relational competence must be understood as a whole in which all the themes are present. Conclusion: Relational competence in mental healthcare incorporates all the identified components. Each theme complements the others and contributes to the construction of a strong therapeutic relationship between patients and mental health professionals. To provide the best possible care for mentally ill patients, healthcare professionals must embrace and integrate these elements into their practice.