An innovative model of psychological service delivery in primary healthcare: the Single-Session Intervention

In Canada, the demand for mental health care exceeds the provision of services. This exploratory study aimed to assess the feasibility and impact of a new service delivery model for psychological consultations in primary care settings: the Single-Session Intervention (SSI), inspired by Advanced Acce...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC primary care 2023-01, Vol.24 (1), p.1-1, Article 1
Main Authors: Perreault, Kathy, Breton, Mylaine, Berbiche, Djamal
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advanced access
Canada
Humans
Medicine
Mental Health
Mental Health Services - trends
Organizational Innovation
Primary care
Primary Health Care
Psychological consultation
Self Report
Single-session
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Summary:In Canada, the demand for mental health care exceeds the provision of services. This exploratory study aimed to assess the feasibility and impact of a new service delivery model for psychological consultations in primary care settings: the Single-Session Intervention (SSI), inspired by Advanced Access (AA) principles for appointment scheduling. The specific objectives were to examine whether the SSI increases accessibility to psychological consultations, to measure the effects of the intervention on different self-reported measures, and to assess users' consultation experiences. Participants were recruited in a University Family Medicine Group in Quebec (Canada), and the SSI was delivered by the on-site psychologist. No referral or formal diagnosis was needed to attend, and participants could promptly obtain an appointment. Participants rated the intensity of their problem, their level of psychological distress and their well-being, before and after the SSI. They also rated their satisfaction with their consultation experience. There was a follow-up 4 to 6 weeks later. Of the N = 69 participants who received SSI, 91% were able to obtain an appointment in less than 7 working days. The number of patients who were able to benefit from a psychological consultation was about 7 times higher after the implementation of SSI compared to previous years, when a traditional model of service delivery was in place. After SSI, participants felt that the intensity of their problem and psychological distress were lower, and that their well-being was increased, as indicated by significant pre-post test clinical measures (p 
ISSN:2731-4553
2731-4553
DOI:10.1186/s12875-022-01949-8