Assessing the impact of implementing stepped care psychological therapies

A study assessing the impact of implementing stepped care psychological therapies has been published in the Journal of Affective Disorders (Richards, D.A. and Borglin, G. (2011), 'Implementation of Psychological Therapies for Anxiety and Depression in Routine Practice: Two Year Prospective Cohort Study', Journal of Affective Disorders, 133: 51-60). The study measures the prospective outcomes of patients referred over a two year period to an IAPT service. This is the very first report to include outcomes and final dispositions of 100% of all patients treated. In other reports of this kind outcomes of between 15-33% are the norm. Previous evaluations of IAPT present final outcomes on around 62% of patients accepted into treatment since the remainder are still being treated due to the cross-sectional nature of these evaluations. As such, this paper is the first to tell us where all patients go and how all patients do clinically.

Download the article here