Li, Elizabeth;
Kealy, David;
Aafjes-van Doorn, Katie;
McCollum, James;
Curtis, John T;
Luo, Xiaochen;
Silberschatz, George;
(2024)
“It Felt Like I Was Being Tailored to the Treatment Rather Than the Treatment Being Tailored to Me”: Patient Experiences of Helpful and Unhelpful Psychotherapy.
Psychotherapy Research
10.1080/10503307.2024.2360448.
(In press).
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Abstract
Objective: This qualitative study explores patients’ experiences of psychotherapy, focusing on elements perceived as helpful or unhelpful and suggestions for improvement in the context of public mental health care. // Methods: A total of 148 adults (Mean age = 32.24, SD = 9.92) who had been or are currently receiving psychological treatment from the National Health Service (NHS) responded to an online survey. The survey included open-ended questions regarding their experiences of psychotherapy, asking them to identify helpful or unhelpful aspects, and suggestions for improvement. Using thematic analysis, key themes were identified. // Results: The analysis highlighted the patient’s preference for personalized treatment, the importance of therapeutic alliance, the demand for depth in therapy, and life skills and agency as therapeutic outcomes. Participants suggested improvements such as more tailored approaches and stronger therapist-patient relationships, supporting an adaptable, patient-centered model. // Conclusion: The study highlights challenges in public mental health services where patients might feel their specific needs are not being recognized and met and underscores the importance of personalized treatment plans that satisfy and evolve with patient needs, suggesting that therapists must be attentive and responsive to individual desires to enhance the patient experience.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | “It Felt Like I Was Being Tailored to the Treatment Rather Than the Treatment Being Tailored to Me”: Patient Experiences of Helpful and Unhelpful Psychotherapy |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1080/10503307.2024.2360448 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2024.2360448 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. |
| Keywords: | Patient experiences; Personalized treatment; Therapist responsiveness; Thematic analysis; National Health Service |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10193111 |
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