What’s the difference between an AI-chatbot and a human therapist? Not much, according to a recently published study looking at recent chatbot use by people with ongoing mental health conditions. Like it or not, we seem to have some competition. How should we respond? This study flew below my radar when it was published in…
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It surely makes sense that more sessions yield better outcomes, right? My improvement rates over the past five years, however, suggest otherwise. Basically, the higher my average sessions per client, the poorer my outcomes. In trying to understand this puzzle, I’m edging towards a conclusion that feels a little challenging. Why this topic, and why…
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We asked you to tell us what proportions of your clients improve, stay the same, and deteriorate. You told us, and we’ve compared your responses to those from a 2012 study which asked the same question, and to some established benchmarks. What do you think we found? Why this survey, and why now? We’re facing…
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In this blog post we’ll ask you what proportion of your clients improve, stay the same, and deteriorate. We’ll be inviting you to take part in another brief, anonymous, survey to share your thoughts. We’ll then publish the results and contrast them with the results of a 2012 study which asked the same question, as well…
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We asked you to rate your skills and performance compared to your professional peers. You told us, and we compared your responses to those from a 2012 study which asked the same question. Despite some startling differences between the two, however, still very few of us seem prepared to entertain the possibility of being below…
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How do we rate our skills and performance as therapists? How do we think they compare with those of others? A survey published some years back addressed these questions. We’re curious to see if anything’s changed, and we’re inviting you to take part in a brief anonymous survey to find out. We’ll publish the results…
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Successfully implementing routine outcome measurement into our practice isn’t easy. Despite evidence that such feedback can enhance outcomes, over the years I’ve seen many more failures than successes. Why does it seem so difficult, and would creating a community help to make it stick? A history of coming up short… In over twenty years as…
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We’ve recently seen the publication of a sizeable study showing that therapists’ effectiveness appears to decline over time. It’s not the first to reach this finding. Why might this be, and how might this apply to you? First, some difficult news…. Buckle up, because I have some difficult news. It’s this – that there’s a…
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The 2021 – 22 IAPT Annual Report delivered an unexpected surprise. Set against other therapy modalities, and its own past performance, the recovery rate for CBT has deteriorated significantly in the past year. Here, we showcase the data and speculate on what might lie behind this drop in performance. I have to confess I don’t…
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In their new book Outcome Measures and Evaluation in Counselling and Psychotherapy, authors Chris Evans and Jo-anne Carlyle have pulled off a rare feat. In making some important statistical concepts accessible, presenting ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments for measurement in a balanced way, and leading the reader through a range of implementation scenarios, they have written the…
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