Understanding Staff Perspectives of a Psychologically Informed Environment (PIE) in an Australian Youth Refuge: A PRISM-Informed Thematic Analysis.

Purpose

Evidence suggests that Psychologically Informed Environments (PIEs) may support positive outcomes for people experiencing homelessness and staff; however, limited research has examined PIE implementation. This study investigated staff perspectives of contextual factors influencing implementation of a PIE framework embedded for approximately ten years within a youth refuge.

Methods

Twenty-six staff from an Australian youth refuge participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and organized around six PRISM-informed intervention characteristics: acceptability, adaptability, complexity, usability, usefulness, and observability.

Results

A PIE was highly acceptable, with alignment between its principles and staff values supporting integration into practice. Implementation involved interconnected processes, with shared formulation providing common psychological understanding, reflection supporting its application and maintenance, and trauma-informed environmental design enabling psychologically informed practice. Training, experience, and informal learning supported increasingly intuitive practice, while flexibility enabled individualized responses. Staff perceived benefits for young people, staff, and the service, while organizational conditions influenced consistent enactment.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that a PIE becomes embedded when mutually reinforcing core components are integrated within a shared psychological approach that provides consistency while enabling individualized practice. Formulation, reflection, and trauma-informed environmental design supported enactment, while organizational and service-system conditions could enable or constrain implementation. Future research should examine these barriers and enablers across contexts and implementation stages.