Dating, romance and physical closeness matter to most adults, including people who use mental-health services. Yet these needs are seldom discussed in appointments. A 2026 review looked at what mental-health staff themselves say about this, and found that they generally accept intimacy matters but often do not feel equipped or supported to talk about it.
The review was published on 18 March 2026 in the Journal of Mental Health by a team at University College London. It is a qualitative systematic review, which means the authors did not run a new experiment or interview anyone new. They searched four research databases for published studies that explored what mental-health practitioners think and experience when supporting people's needs for romantic or intimate relationships.
Twenty-four papers met their inclusion criteria. The authors assessed the quality of each paper with a standard checklist for qualitative research, then combined the findings using a method called meta-aggregation, which groups similar findings from different studies into broader themes. They also rated how much confidence to place in each theme using a tool called ConQual.
Because the review looks at what staff said, it tells us about practitioners' perspectives. It does not directly report what service users themselves said, and it did not test any programme or approach.
The authors developed four synthesised findings. The first concerned ideas and perceptions about the intimacy needs of service users. The second concerned how support is provided at a personal level, by individual staff. The third concerned how to fit intimacy needs into the therapeutic context. The fourth concerned provision at an organisational level, meaning the policies, training and structures around staff.
The main message was that staff understood the importance of addressing intimacy needs, particularly given how closely intimacy is tied to wellbeing and recovery. At the same time, they said they needed better knowledge, skills and support to have those conversations. In other words, the barrier described was less about whether staff cared and more about whether they felt prepared and backed by their organisations.
The summary we could access does not give detailed numbers for how often each theme appeared, nor which countries or services the studies came from. It also does not break findings down by type of practitioner, so we cannot say whether doctors, nurses, social workers or support workers differed.
This review describes staff views. It is not evidence that any particular approach to talking about intimacy improves symptoms, relationships or recovery. A review of 24 papers is also only as strong as the papers it includes, and qualitative studies describe experiences rather than measure how common they are.
Staff may also describe what they believe they do or should do, which can differ from what service users experience. The review cannot tell us whether service users want these conversations in every setting or at every stage of care. People differ, and some may prefer to keep this part of life private. Nothing in the findings suggests that anyone should be pressured to discuss it.
The review also does not suggest that intimacy is the job of any single profession, or that dating is a form of treatment. It points to a gap in training and organisational support, which is a service-design question more than a personal one.
This is general education, not advice, and it does not address any person's circumstances. If you or someone close to you is in distress, speak with a doctor or another appropriately qualified professional. In Australia, Lifeline is on 13 11 14, and 000 is for emergencies.
Source: Mental health staff's views and experiences on supporting service users' needs for romantic/intimate relationships: a qualitative systematic review DOI: 10.1080/09638237.2026.2645548
Illustration of making space for relationship and intimacy concerns in a support conversation. AI-generated editorial illustration. This article summarises published research in our own words and is general information, not personal health advice.
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