Effect of session length on treatment outcome for college students in brief therapy.

Abstract

Ninety-four college students were examined to investigate the effects of session length (30and 50-min "hours") on therapy success. A prescreening assessment consisting of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 and the College Adjustment Scale was conducted. Therapy was provided by either a licensed psychologist, social worker, or marriage and family counselor trained in brief therapy. On completion of a maximum of 8 therapy sessions, client adjustment and satisfaction were assessed. No difference was found in treatment effect or client satisfaction between the two treatment groups. Students reported greater adjustment after therapy independent of session length.

The Effectiveness of Counselling

“…A comparison group of students who did not receive counselling exhibited minimal change over the same period of time. Turner et al (1996) found that time-limited counselling had a modest impact on adjustment in a sample of student clients. Vonk & Thyer (1999), in a study of the effectiveness of short-term counselling (average 10 sessions), found that, compared to students in a waiting-list condition, those who received counselling recorded substantial levels of clinical improvement.…”

Pretreatment Change Reports by Clients in a University Counseling Center: Relationship to Inquiry Technique, Client, and Situational Variables

“…Indeed, brief therapy has been hailed as the "model of choice" (Archer & Cooper, 1998, p. 25) for college counseling centers. Furthermore, studies conducted in university counseling centers attest to the interest in brief therapy (Regan & Hill, 1992;Turner, Valtierra, Talken, Miller, & DeAnda, 1996). Counseling centers are strategically positioned for the use of techniques that facilitate rapid change.…”

Evaluating the effectiveness of short-term treatment at a university counseling center

“…In spite of this growing need, very few empirical evaluations of student counseling centers have been published over the past 25 years (Gelso, Spiegel, & Mills, 1983;Harman, 1971;Keilson, Dworkin, & Gelso, 1983;Turner, Valtierra, Talken, Miller, & DeAnda, 1996). Of the small number of evaluations that are available, only four have been identified that are focused specifically on short-term treatment outcome.…”

“…The main disadvantage of their study was the exclusion of clients who were outside the normal to moderately disturbed range, a group who is being treated at counseling centers in increasing numbers. Turner et al (1996) used the MMPI-2, the College Adjustment Scale, and the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire for pre-and posttreatment testing of 94 college students randomly assigned to either 30-minute session or 50-minute session therapy. Both groups improved equivalently.…”

“…Both groups improved equivalently. Only one of these four prior studies used a standardized general measure of psychosocial symptoms that would be applicable to diverse clients in the context of a pretest-posttest research design (Turner et al, 1996), thus there is a clear need for further examination of the effectiveness of short-term treatment in counseling centers.…”