Common Factors, Responsiveness and Outcome in Psychotherapy

NCT05630560 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: 16-B-0269
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 1,000
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The "Common Factors, Responsiveness and Outcome of Psychotherapy" (CROP) study is a naturalistic observational study at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) carried out in cooperation with psychologists in the Danish practice sector or in private practice. The study aims to examine the contribution of client, therapist and treatment characteristics, as well as the role of therapists' responsiveness, on the process and outcome of psychotherapy. Participating psychologists and clients fill out background questionnaires prior to initiating therapy, and process data for each course of treatment is collected weekly and after each session while outcome data is collected at end of treatment and at three months follow-up. The psychologists are reimbursed DKK 1,000 per client that contributes to the study with at least three session questionnaires, which corresponds to the hourly salary of a psychologist in Danish private practice. All data is collected through an automated, online database to ensure appropriate anonymization and data management, and all participants give informed consent prior to participation. The CROP study has been approved by the UCPH's Department of Psychology's ethical review board and the Danish Data Protection Agency.

Conditions

Mental Health; Psychological Distress; General Psychotherapy

Keywords

psychotherapy research; psychotherapy effect; psychotherapy process and outcome; therapist effects; therapy predictors and moderators; therapist responsiveness

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in psychological symptoms measured by the BSI

  The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) is a self-report scale consisting of 53 items covering nine symptom dimensions: Somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation and psychoticism.

  Change in psychological symptoms from baseline until end-of-treatment (an average of 7 months).

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Change in symptoms measured by the Symptom Checklist-11

  Every week while the client is in therapy, up until 25 weeks of therapy.

Study Arms (1)

Psychologists in Danish private practice

All psychologists with a Danish university degree in psychology who have registered themselves as seeing clients in private practice (app. 1,750) have been invited to participate in the study. Thus, the sample of psychologists consists of psychologists employed in the Danish practice sector, where clients obtain a refund of 60% of the psychologist's salary, as well as psychologists working privately without any reimbursement of their salaries. Each psychologist enrolled in the study has agreed to aim to recruit no less than 10 clients each for the study. We aim to include 100 psychologists, which will yield a sample of 1,000 clients beginning therapy.

Other: Psychotherapy treatment

Interventions

Psychotherapy treatment OTHER

The psychotherapist will conduct psychotherapy as normally done by them in their practice. The treatment will thus be un-manualized and consist of a broad range of therapeutic orientations and treatment lengths.

Psychologists in Danish private practice

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 100 Years
• Gender Eligibility Details: Male, female, other
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

All clients in individual psychotherapy aged 18 or older are eligible for the study, meaning that in principle all client diagnoses and referral reasons may be represented in the sample. However, in Denmark, reimbursement for psychological treatment in the practice sector is only provided for clients referred by their general practitioner for one of the 11 referral reasons and diagnoses presented below. Thus, clients meeting these characteristics are likely to be overrepresented within the sample.

You may qualify if:

• Above 18 of age and in individual psychotherapy

You may not qualify if:

• severe psychoticism or other severe mental health issues.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The Common Factors, Responsiveness and Outcome of Psychotherapy Study: lead
• University of Copenhagen: collaborator
• The Health Foundation: collaborator
• TRYG Foundation: collaborator
• the Danish Psychological Association: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Copenhagen

Copenhagen, 1353, Denmark

RECRUITING

Related Publications (5)

• Jacobsen CF, Igra L, Lunn S, Karstoft KI, Nielsen J, Lauritzen L, Falkenstrom F, Poulsen S. The association between therapist internal relational models, professional self-doubt, and coping strategies and the process and outcome of psychotherapy. Psychother Res. 2025 May 27:1-16. doi: 10.1080/10503307.2025.2506650. Online ahead of print.

  PMID: 40424535 DERIVED

• Jacobsen CF, Falkenstrom F, Karstoft KI, Igra L, Lunn S, Nielsen J, Lauritzen L, Poulsen S. Exploring the matching effect: The association between preference accommodation, the working alliance, and outcome in psychotherapy. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2025 Jun;93(6):443-456. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000955.

  PMID: 40388150 DERIVED

• Jacobsen CF, Falkenstrom F, Castonguay L, Nielsen J, Lunn S, Lauritzen L, Poulsen S. The relationship between attachment needs, earned secure therapeutic attachment and outcome in adult psychotherapy. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2024 Jul;92(7):410-421. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000900.

  PMID: 39190445 DERIVED

• Faye Jacobsen C, Karstoft KI, Falkenstrom F, Nielsen J, Lunn S, Poulsen S. Client preferences, therapy activities and preference-activity match as predictors of therapy outcome. Psychother Res. 2025 Jun;35(5):777-792. doi: 10.1080/10503307.2024.2353358. Epub 2024 May 21.

  PMID: 38771973 DERIVED

• Lauritzen LR, Faye Jacobsen C, Nielsen J, Lunn S, Mathiesen BB, Falkenstrom F, Poulsen S. Common factors, Responsiveness and Outcome in Psychotherapy (CROP): study protocol for a naturalistic prospective cohort study of psychotherapy in Denmark. BMJ Open. 2023 Jun 2;13(6):e072277. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-072277.

  PMID: 37270190 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Psychological Well-Being

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personal Satisfaction; Behavior

Central Study Contacts

Stig Poulsen, Professor

CONTACT

+45 28 59 35 43; stig.poulsen@psy.ku.dk

Celia Faye Jacobsen, PhD

CONTACT

+45 22261168; celia.jacobsen@psy.ku.dk

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: RETROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 11, 2022
• First Posted: November 29, 2022
• Study Start: January 1, 2019
• Primary Completion: July 1, 2024
• Study Completion: July 1, 2024
• Last Updated: November 29, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

DK (1)