A Qualitative Study of Non-Response to Psychological Therapy.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Clients’ Experience of Non-Response to Psychological Therapy.
IRAS ID
120110
Contact name
Kay Radcliffe
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust
Research summary
A qualitative study of clients’ experience of not benefitting from psychological therapy.
There has been an expansion of research into psychotherapy outcomes, attempting to answer questions such as how can we improve treatments, along with a growing interest into clients who deteriorate as a result of therapy. However, the group which has been overlooked are those who do not benefit from therapy. Although estimates of non-response to therapy vary from 14% to 60%, research into this group is minimal.
This study aims to begin to explore what sense clients’ make of therapy which they feel, has brought about no change for them. Non-response can been seen as having opportunity costs for the client in terms of time and input, as well as possible feelings of failure for not being able to use therapy. Non-response is therefore likely to have an emotional cost for both the client and the therapist, as well as an economic cost to healthcare services.
Additionally, by investigating experience, we can gain a greater understanding of the processes which result in therapeutic change. We can therefore gain greater insight and adapt practice to implement more effective interventions and enhance engagement of this understudied group.
This study will recruit clients who have completed a course of individual therapy and feel they have not benefitted from this. This will include adults, age 18+ who have received treatment for a common mental health problem within the LYPFT Psychological Therapies Service. Participants will be invited to undergo a single 60-90 minute interview in which they will be asked to explore their experience of the therapy they had.
As this is a piece of Doctoral research data collection and analysis will take approximately 7 months, with the aim of being written up for submission by Summer 2014.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/YH/0211
Date of REC Opinion
18 Jul 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion