Practitioners’ experiences of learning and implementing Counselling for Depression (CfD) in routine practice settings

• Published in: Counselling and psychotherapy research 2018-03, Vol.18 (1), p.3-13
• Main Authors: Drewitt, Leah, Pybis, Joanne, Murphy, David, Barkham, Michael
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Counseling; counselling for depression; IAPT; Mental depression; practice; Psychotherapy; trainees’ experiences; training
• ISSN: 1473-3145; 1746-1405
• DOI: 10.1002/capr.12148

Aim Counselling for Depression (CfD) is a person‐centred experiential therapy developed for implementation in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. Training in this model has been available across England since 2011. This study aims to investigate counselling practitioners’ experiences of learning the CfD model and implementing CfD in practice settings. Method Participants were recruited by an email sent to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy's (BACP) CfD Practice Research Network (PRN). Of the 53 CfD practitioners belonging to BACP's CfD PRN, 18 participated in this mixed‐methods piece of research. All 18 participants completed an online questionnaire, and one hour follow‐up semi‐structured interviews were conducted with six of the participants. Results Descriptive analyses from the online questionnaire indicated a positive experience of CfD training, with practitioners indicating a positive impact on sense of self, practice and skill set. Although a degree of challenge was encountered when training in the CfD model, thematic analysis from the six semi‐structured interviews revealed factors contributing to the positives and challenges experienced on the course. Themes also revealed a predominately negative experience of CfD in practice and service settings, although this was service dependent. Conclusions and implications for practice The findings can inform future recruitment of trainees to CfD training programmes and the training programme itself. They can also be used to achieve greater congruence between training in CfD and the delivery of the model. Future research may need to focus on the service level factors influencing practitioners’ experiences, and whether this experience is specific to the CfD modality in IAPT.