The Nijmegen Motivation List 2 (NML2) is a new instrument to assess patient motivation for psychotherapy. A previous version of the instrument was associated with positive treatment outcome in cognitive-behaviour therapy in several studies but its psychometric properties were poor. The present study investigated the NML2’s factorial structure, psychometric properties, and predictive value for treatment outcome. The NML2 was completed by 133 outpatients. Three factors were found: preparedness, distress, and doubt. Internal consistencies and re-test reliabilities of the factors were reasonable. The NML2 total score and preparedness were associated with proximal treatment helpfulness and with treatment drop-out. Distress and doubt were not. These findings corroborate those found with the earlier NML version. Rather than assuming that the relationship between motivation factors and treatment outcome is mediated by the amount or quality of treatment or homework compliance, it is proposed that motivation for treatment is the first step in the patient’s change process itself.

The results suggest that the nature of the first illness episode may be more valuable than the DSM categories of mood or anxiety disorders, which may lend support to the concept of primary versus secondary depression for purposes of differentiating treatment responses. Given the exploratory nature of the study, however, replication of our finding is needed.

Response Ability is an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing (the Department). Since 2000, the project team has provided free multimedia resources and practical support for universities and teacher educators, addressing pre-service education for secondary teachers. The focus of the existing Response Ability resources is on the mental health and wellbeing of secondary school students. The use of these resources is designed to encourage pre-service teachers to engage with and promote social and emotional health in their teaching practices. In 2006, the Response Ability project was directed by the Department to advise how the scope of these resources could be broadened to support primary and early childhood teacher education. As part of this, a large-scale scoping study was undertaken to inform discussions about mental health promotion and early intervention

Adults over the age of 65 who are diagnosable with personality disorder face numerous problems within current mental health service provision. These include a lack of diagnostic clarity and a lack of specialist personality disorder-specific interventions. The authors present a pilot mini therapeutic community service for older adults diagnosable with personality disorder consistent with recommendations from NSF, NIMHE and NICE. Clinical experience suggests that positive outcomes demonstrated in similar services for adults of working age may be possible in this group and preliminary outcome results described in the article suggest a trend of clinical and functional improvement, and some economic benefits. This will need to be replicated and tested with a larger sample to confirm these findings.

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