The potential role of nurses in leading positive behaviour support

Abstract

Positive behaviour support (PBS) has become the preferred intervention in the management of challenging behaviour in learning disability and mental health services. However, there is an absence of literature on nurses' views and experience of PBS. Nurses are passive in PBS plan development while other professionals, such as clinical psychologists, often take the lead. While nurses see clinical psychologists as experts in PBS, they feel this could create a barrier that hinders its full potential and a more multidisciplinary approach would be beneficial. Nurses could take a pivotal role in delivering PBS plans if they were able to take a leading role, and this would benefit service users as nurses work far more closely with them than other professionals.