The experiences of therapists using a new client-centred psychometric instrument, PSYCHLOPS (Psychological Outcome Profiles)

Abstract

PSYCHLOPS ('Psychological Outcome Profiles') is a newly developed client-generated psychometric instrument which can be used as an outcome measure. Uniquely, it asks clients to state their own problems, in their own words. As part of its validation, we used it alongside an existing measure, CORE-OM ('Clinical Outcomes Routine Evaluation Á/ Outcome Measure'). Based on a qualitative methodology, we report here on the first-hand experiences of four therapists using both instruments.The key themes that emerged from therapists' responses were feasibility, validity and usefulness. Both questionnaires were perceived as complementing each other, the qualitative information from PSYCHLOPS balancing the quantitative information from CORE-OM and that both could contribute to the therapist-client interaction. The key features of PSYCHLOPS are likely to prove attractive to therapists and should increase acceptance and uptake of outcome measures.

The challenges of designing and piloting a system for measuring the impact of counselling provided by a national voluntary agency

“…This reluctance may arise from concern about the assessment of clinical practice or standardising therapeutic techniques (Roberts, 2003) and needs to be discussed candidly from the outset. Ashworth et al (2005) and Moodley (2001) point out that the relationship between research and practice can be difficult, and may lead practitioners to disconnect from research developments which do not accord with their own values and professional ideologies.…”

“…Another way of putting this might be that quantitative research in general, and randomised controlled trials in particular, may not be the best or only way to evaluate counselling. Researchers are rarely embedded within the service itself, often come from a different tradition and knowledge-base, and may appear to be positioned on the opposite side of a yawning gap dividing academia and practice (Ashworth et al, 2005). This is where some bridge building is necessary between researchers and practitioners in order to facilitate development of an effective evaluation system within a service such as Relate.…”

Monitorování účinnosti v psychoterapii a poradenství

“…idiosynkratické metody, v nichž si klienti sami formulují položky na základě svých potíží (např. Ashworth et al, 2005;Elliott, Mack, & Shapiro, 1999) či kvalitativní procedury, v nichž se efekt zjišťuje polostrukturovaným rozhovorem (Elliott & Rodgers, 2008;Sandell, 1987). Mezi praktickými limity můžeme jmenovat např.…”

Are problems prevalent and stable in non-clinical populations? Problems and test-retest stability of a patient-generated measure, PSYCHLOPS (Psychological Outcome Profiles), in a non-clinical student sample

“…PSYCHLOPS (Ashworth et al, 2004) was developed on the model of MYMOP (Paterson, 1996) used to assess physical illness. PSYCHLOPS is a one-page, selfadministered questionnaire consisting of four questions.…”

“…These, the focus of this paper, offer some flexibility for the participant/client to choose the items to rate, but define the rating methods on which such ratings are made. Two patientgenerated outcome measures, MYMOP (Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile) for physical complaints (Paterson, 1996) and PSYCHLOPS (Psychological Outcome Profiles) for psychological problems (Ashworth et al, 2004), are hybrid measures combining three ratings whose content is set by the client (Problems Á two questions; Function Á one question) and one which is standardised (Wellbeing Á one question). The largely patient-generated approach in such measures shifts the emphasis from pre-defined, professionally driven criteria toward those criteria considered important by the individual patient.…”