Background: Individuals referred to psychiatric services are often ambivalent about service involvement. Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a brief motivational intervention during initial consultation with community psychiatric patients. Method: 45 patients referred to a Community Mental Health Team received an initial consultation followed by a feedback letter, both of which drew on the principles of motivational interviewing. These users were compared with matched controls who received a standard psychiatric assessment. The impact of the initial consultation, with or without motivational enhancement, on users' attitudes to their care, motivation to change, compliance and outcome was assessed at one month post-consultation and 3-4 months later. Results: After initial consultation, patients in both groups had similar problem severity ratings. Those patients who had received the intervention were more motivated to change, and had more positive attitudes to their consultation and care. Attitudinal differences tended to persist up to 3-4 months follow-up. Conclusions: A brief motivational intervention has at least short-term effects on motivation, and it improves attitude to care.
Although some students have discovered how to use self-access centers effectively, the majority appear to be unaware of available resources. A website and database of materials were created to help students locate materials and use the Self-Access Study Center (SASC) at Brigham Young University’s English Language Center (ELC) more effectively. Students took two surveys regarding their use of the SASC. The first survey was given before the website and database were made available. A second survey was administered 12 weeks after students had been introduced to the resource. An analysis of the data shows that students tend to use SASC resources more autonomously as a result of having a web-based database. The survey results suggest that SAC managers can encourage more autonomous use of center materials by provided a website and database to help students find appropriate materials to use to learn English.
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