Evaluating brief cognitive behavioural therapy within primary care

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a brief CBT intervention within a primary care adult mental health service. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 92 participants with mild to moderate mental health difficulties were provided with five sessions of brief CBT. Clinical improvement was measured using the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) at pre-treatment, mid-treatment and post-treatment, and on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) at pre-treatment and post-treatment. Findings – The planned five sessions of CBT were completed by 48.9 percent ( n =45) of participants. Treatment completers with full clinical data ( n =31) showed large statistically significant improvements on the CORE-OM and BDI-II from pre-therapy to post-therapy. Of treatment completers and non-completers with post-therapy and mid-therapy CORE-OM data, respectively ( n =34), 61.8 percent showed reliable and clinically significant change. No statistically significant differences were found between treatment completers ( n =45) and non-completers ( n =47) in their pre-therapy clinical scores or socio-demographic characteristics. Practical implications – Brief CBT can be a clinically effective primary care intervention but needs to be implemented in a way that ensures high treatment engagement across a range of service users. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the evidence base of a primary care psychological intervention and demonstrates the importance of assessing treatment completion when evaluating clinical effectiveness.