Interprofessional Readiness and Team Climate in Psychiatric Care: Profession-Specific Differences in a Japanese Psychiatric Hospital

Interprofessional collaboration is critical for integrated psychiatric care, yet few studies have profiled clinicians’ readiness for interprofessional learning and team climate across professions while adjusting for demographic and experiential factors. We conducted a single-site cross-sectional survey of physicians, nursing staff, and allied health professionals in a specialist psychiatric hospital in Japan. Primary outcomes were the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale–Professional version (RIPLS-Pro) total score and the Participative Safety subscale of the Team Climate Inventory. We compared professions and clinical settings using regression models adjusted for age and years of practice and analyzed free-text responses using directed content analysis. Profession was associated with both RIPLS-Pro and Participative Safety scores: allied health staff scored the highest, followed by physicians and nursing staff. Clinical setting and the profession-by-setting interaction did not explain additional variance. Age correlated positively with RIPLS-Pro scores. Qualitative data highlighted cross-cutting barriers (time pressure, fragmented handovers, role ambiguity) and pragmatic enablers (brief protected huddles, shared handover templates, clearer task ownership). Overall, variability in interprofessional readiness and psychological safety appeared to be driven more by profession-linked working conditions and organization-wide routines than by ward or unit type. Small-scale, locally adapted quality improvement efforts that protect routine interprofessional touchpoints, standardize handovers, and clarify role ownership warrant prospective evaluation to strengthen collaborative practice in psychiatric care.