학술논문

Assessment PLUS: A guided self‐help pilot within the psychological therapies teams.
Document Type
Article
Source
Counselling & Psychotherapy Research. Dec2023, Vol. 23 Issue 4, p1123-1133. 11p.
Subject
*MENTAL illness treatment
*TEAMS in the workplace
*PROFESSIONAL practice
*CLINICAL trials
*RESEARCH methodology
*PATIENT satisfaction
*EVIDENCE-based medicine
*SEVERITY of illness index
*PATIENTS' attitudes
*FUNCTIONAL assessment
*MEDICAL referrals
*DESCRIPTIVE statistics
*MEDICAL appointments
*THEMATIC analysis
*MENTAL illness
*COGNITIVE therapy
*HEALTH self-care
*DISCHARGE planning
*LONGITUDINAL method
*ADULTS
Language
ISSN
1473-3145
Abstract
Objective: This paper presents the findings of a study evaluating the effectiveness, accessibility, sustainability and patient satisfaction of the Assessment PLUS model. This model aimed to reduce patients' symptomology, improve their functioning and alleviate the demand on Psychological Therapies Team (PTT) staff, particularly in response to the challenges posed by the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods: The intervention was offered to 55 patients with mild‐to‐moderate mental health conditions across three localities in Lanarkshire, UK, of whom only 25 completed the sessions. Clinical outcome measure scores, patients' feedback, wait times, discharge, returning patients and re‐referral rates were analysed using a mixed methods approach. Results: The results of the statistical analysis highlight a statistically significant improvement (p < 0.001) in patients' presentations and results of the thematic analysis reveal that almost all patients found the intervention helpful and returned overall positive feedback. On completing the intervention, less than a third of patients returned to the waiting list, while more than half were discharged completely. At the 6‐month follow‐up, those returning to the PTT waitlists (n = 12) had between 6 and 8 sessions on average, while over the 80% of those discharged from A+ did not require further psychological input. The average wait time across the full sample was 6 weeks. Conclusions: In summary, the results of the mixed methods analysis demonstrate a significant improvement in patients' presentations after completing the A+ intervention. The majority of patients found the intervention helpful and provided positive feedback. Moreover, a significant proportion of patients were discharged completely, and those who returned to the PTT waitlists required fewer sessions on average. The average wait time for the full sample was just over 6 weeks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]