Psychology of Change: How BWS Adapted During the Covid 19 Lockdown

By Catherine Heaney, Improvement Advisor

The psychology of change is a vital ingredient in Quality Improvement activities. Human behaviour makes a difference as to whether people are successful in achieving their improvement aims.  

The following summary gives an example of the Psychology of Change framework in practice. To quote the IHI framework: 

“The psychology of change is the science and art of human behaviour as it relates to transformation.”  

In March 2020, Bedfordshire Wellbeing service transformed all guided self-help therapy services from face to face consultations to virtual offers. This was an incredible achievement as they maintained continuity of service provision and worked together to overcome their challenges.  

In the language of the IHI Psychology of Change Framework, the team adapted in action (illustrated in Figure 1 above). They “unleash[ed] the power of people (“who”) and their motivations (“why”) to advance and sustain improvement. This can clearly be seen in the feedback which follows.