Year: 2015
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: The current study used multilevel growth mixture modeling to ascertain groups of patients who had similar trajectories in their psychological functioning over the course of short-term treatment. METHOD: A total of 10,854 clients completed a measure of psychological functioning before each session. Psychological functioning was measured by the Behavioral Health Measure, which is an index of well-being, symptoms, and life-functioning. Clients who attended 5 to 25 sessions at 46 different university/college counseling centers and one community mental health center were included in this study. Client diagnoses and the specific treatment approaches were not known. RESULTS: A 3-class solution was a good fit to the data. Clients in classes 1 and 3 had moderate severity in their initial psychological functioning scores, and clients in class 2 had more distressed psychological functioning scores. The trajectory for clients in class 1 was typified by early initial change, followed by a plateau, and then another gain in psychological functioning later in treatment. The trajectory for clients in class 2 demonstrated an initial decrease in functioning, followed by a rapid increase, and then a plateau. Last, the clients in class 3 had a steady increase of psychological functioning, in a more linear manner. CONCLUSION: The trajectories of change for clients are diverse, and they can ebb and flow more than traditional dose-effect and good-enough level models may suggest.
Source: Journal of Clinical Psychology
DOI: 10.1002/jclp.22191
Authors: Jesse Owen, Jill Adelson, Stephanie Budge, Bruce Wampold, Mark Kopta, T. Minami, Scott Miller
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W1485316687