Motivation as a predictor of outcomes in school‐based humanistic counselling

Abstract

Recent years have seen a growth in the provision of counselling within UK secondary schools, and research indicates that it is associated with significant reductions in psychological distress. However, little is known about the moderators and mediators of positive therapeutic benefit. In the field of adult mental health, motivation has been found to be one of the strongest predictors of therapeutic outcomes, and it was hypothesised that this may also be a predictor of outcomes for young people in school-based counselling services. To assess the relationship between young people’s motivation for counselling and its effectiveness within a secondary school setting. Eighty-one young people (12 - 17 years old) who attended school-based humanistic counselling services in Scotland. Clients completed a measure of motivation for counselling at the commencement of their therapeutic work and a measure of psychological wellbeing at the commencement and termination of counselling. Motivation for counselling was not found to be significantly related to outcomes. The results indicate that the association between motivation and outcomes may be weaker in young people as compared with adults. However, a number of design factors may also account for the non-significant findings: insufficient participants, marginal reliability of the motivation measure and social desirability effects

An investigation into the psychometric properties of the CORE‐OM in patients with eating disorders

“…To date, the CORE‐OM has been used as an effective measure in a wide range of settings, including primary and secondary NHS services, as well as within occupational health, school, and university settings (e.g., Barkham et al, 2005a; Barkham, Mellor‐Clark, Connell, & Cahill, 2006; Killips, Cooper, Freire, & McGinnis, 2012; see also http://www.coreims.co.uk/Downloads_References.html for a list of studies). Research also suggests that the CORE‐OM is acceptable to clients engaged in psychological therapy (Barkham, Culverwell, Spindler, & Twigg, 2005b; Cahill et al, 2006) and thus it has become a widely used outcome measure in mental health settings across the UK (Bedford et al, 2010).…”