Effectiveness of Tracking Goals in Counselling

NCT03000153 | Terminated

• 1 other identifier: PSYC 16/ 251
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 3
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Recent evidence suggests that focusing on positive goals rather than problems to avoid, may be associated with better psychological health and attainment of goals. In addition, the advantages of using personalised measures have been highlighted in a number of studies. The Goals Form is a new measure that comprises both elements. It invites clients, in collaboration with their therapist, to identify up to seven goals for therapy typically at a first assessment session and then to rate them on a 1-7 Likert scale, with 1 being not at all achieved and 7 being completely achieved. This research is important for clinical practice as it provides the foundations to identify what might be a helpful factor in counselling and psychotherapy. The aim of the study is to test whether the use of the Goals Form leads to better clinical outcomes in counselling and psychotherapy. Participants in this study are counsellors and service users at Tower Hamlets Mind. The design of this study is a trial, which looks at comparing outcome measure scores in 'therapy as usual' and 'therapy using the Goals Form' when participants are randomly assigned to one of the two conditions. Interventions in this study involve using the Goals Form at the start of every session and taking part in a 30 minute interview once therapy has ended to give feedback about using the form in therapy . In addition to assessing outcome, the study also serves to compare satisfaction scores across the two conditions. It is a pilot to determine the feasibility of such trial including recruitment rates over a period of a year, adherence of counsellors and clients to the protocol, and the ethical issues raised.

Conditions

Mental Health Impairment

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• CORE-10

  5 minutes

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Service satisfaction survey

  5 minutes

Study Arms (2)

Completing the Goals Form

EXPERIMENTAL

In this arm, client participants will complete the Goals Form in collaboration with their therapists at the start of every session.

Other: Completing the Goals Form

therapy as usual

NO INTERVENTION

In this arm, clients will have therapy as usual.

Interventions

Completing the Goals Form OTHER

The Goals Form is a personalised outcome measure where clients enter their goals in collaboration with their assessor. Goals are then rated at the start of every session and open the therapeutic dialogue.

Also known as: Goals Form

Completing the Goals Form

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 90 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• All clients referred for counselling in the service.

You may not qualify if:

• Service users who do not understand verbal and written communication in English

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Roehampton: lead
• MIND Tower Hamlets: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Tower Hamlets Mind

London, United Kingdom

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Anker MG, Duncan BL, Sparks JA. Using client feedback to improve couple therapy outcomes: a randomized clinical trial in a naturalistic setting. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2009 Aug;77(4):693-704. doi: 10.1037/a0016062.

  PMID: 19634962 BACKGROUND

• Connell J, Barkham M, Stiles WB, Twigg E, Singleton N, Evans O, Miles JN. Distribution of CORE-OM scores in a general population, clinical cut-off points and comparison with the CIS-R. Br J Psychiatry. 2007 Jan;190:69-74. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.105.017657.

  PMID: 17197659 BACKGROUND

• Duncan BL, Reese RJ. The Partners for Change Outcome Management System (PCOMS) revisiting the client's frame of reference. Psychotherapy (Chic). 2015 Dec;52(4):391-401. doi: 10.1037/pst0000026.

  PMID: 26641369 BACKGROUND

• Farr, J., Di Malta, G. S., & Cooper, M. (2020). Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial of Counselling in a Community Mental Health Setting: Pitfalls and Learnings. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 20, 3-8. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12262

  RESULT

Study Officials

• Mick Cooper, D. Phil.

  Professor of Counselling Psychology

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor of Counselling Psychology

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 17, 2016
• First Posted: December 21, 2016
• Study Start: October 19, 2017
• Primary Completion: July 1, 2018
• Study Completion: July 1, 2018
• Last Updated: January 13, 2022

Record last verified: 2021-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

GB (1)