What do patients want and do we want to know? A review of patients' requests of psychiatric services

Objective A systematic review was conducted of the literature concerning patients' requests of psychiatric care in order to identify the types of requests patients make, psychiatrists' perceptions of their patients' requests, and the relationship between requests and the outcome of care. Method A total of 28 published original articles which fulfilled specific inclusion criteria were reviewed. Results The studies showed that there are certain core requests that patients make irrespective of the type of service attended. Patients mainly request psychological approaches, and the most common requests are for ‘clarification’, ‘psychological expertise’ and ‘psychodynamic insight’. There is evidence that patients normally feel inhibited about making requests, and that psychiatrists often fail to identify what their patients want. Conclusion The majority of patients attending psychiatric services have requests which they will express when encouraged to do so, but little is known about the relationship between patients' requests and the outcome of care. Recommendations are made for future research.