Client’s view of CfD - V1.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A client focused perspective of the effectiveness of Counselling for Depression (CfD).
IRAS ID
126616
Contact name
Stacey Goldman
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Salford
Research summary
This is a qualitative study that will explore how clients are experiencing the new Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme of Counselling for Depression (CfD) and whether clients consider this approach is effective in meeting their needs. This study also aims to provide guidance that will inform professional practice by obtaining client based evidence on whether this way of providing therapy works.\n\nThe provision of counselling has undergone radical changes in the last six years. Since the introduction of the Improving Access to Psychological Therapy programme (IAPT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has become the recommended approach in the NICE guidelines for the vast majority of psychological problems. Although the aim of IAPT was increasing choice and improving access to psychological therapy, it seems it actually resulted in the choice of therapy being narrower. Clients needing therapy are mostly being offered CBT.\n\nTo try and improve the situation, in 2011 a new evidence-based therapy called “Counselling for Depression” (CfD) was developed. This is a form of therapy that places the “client as the expert on themselves” according to the therapy developed by Carl Rogers (1951). However CfD is based on a framework of competencies so it can be delivered from a manual. This means it will be able to be standardised and therefore make the therapy suitable to be tested in a randomised control trial which is the NICE preferred method for obtaining an evidence-base for therapies to be used in the IAPT programme within the NHS.\n\n Trained Counselling for Depression (CfD) counsellors in IAPT services would be asked to invite their clients to take part in this research. Data will be collected using the “Helpful Aspects of Therapy” (HAT) questionnaire after each session and semi-structured interviews with clients when their therapy concludes. These questionnaires and interviews will explore what has helped or hindered clients’ therapy and establish what aspects of the therapy they believe was effective for them and how they felt this occurred. The clients would send the HAT forms back to the researcher and meet with the researcher for the interview. The study has been designed not to interfere with the counselling itself.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/NW/0595
Date of REC Opinion
10 Sep 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion