Mental health clinicians' experiences in delivering family interventions for complex parent-child relationship in rural and regional public infant and child community mental health services.

Abstract

Background: This study explores the experiences of mental health clinicians delivering family-focused interventions for children with mental health issues such as anxiety, oppositional behaviour, and attachment difficulties in rural and regional community services. It examines barriers and enablers to implementing family-based care in under-resourced settings, aiming to highlight opportunities for service improvement and strengthen dialogue between clinicians and management. Population/setting: The study will involve 10–15 Infant, Child, and Perinatal Mental Health clinicians working within rural and regional public community mental health services in Victoria, Australia. Methods: A qualitative design, informed by an interpretivist paradigm and phenomenological approach, will be used to capture clinicians’ lived experiences. Data will be collected through semi-structured focus groups offered in both in-person and online formats to maximise accessibility. Consumer and lived-experience advisors will help shape discussion prompts and facilitation. Focus groups will be audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework with NVivo software. Rigour will be supported through secondary coding, reflexive memo-writing, and transparency in analytic decision-making. Results/findings: This study is currently underway, we are about to begin recruitment for interviews. Analysis is expected to highlight clinicians’ perspectives on the challenges of delivering family-focused care in rural and regional contexts, including the effects of resource constraints, generalist roles, and fragmented services. Findings will identify adaptive strategies, service innovations, and supports for effective practice. Conclusion: This study will generate critical insights into the realities of delivering family interventions in regional infant and child mental health services. By foregrounding clinicians’ perspectives, it will illuminate systemic and practice-level factors influencing the implementation of family-focused care in rural settings. Translational impact/implications for future practice: The study will identify barriers and enablers to family-inclusive practice, with findings expected to inform workforce training, service design, and policy development. Outcomes may guide sustainable service models and culturally responsive, family-centred approaches that improve care quality and reduce the burden of mental illness on children, families, and rural communities.