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Related Experiment Videos

Drop-out rate as a performance indicator in psychotherapy.

C Hunt1, G Andrews

  • 1Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety Disorders, University of New South Wales, St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, Australia.

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
|April 1, 1992
PubMed
Summary

Many psychotherapy patients drop out early. However, effective, standardized behavior therapy shows low attrition, suggesting treatment quality impacts patient retention in mental health services.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • High patient attrition is common in psychotherapy, with many discontinuing treatment prematurely.
  • This dropout rate can limit treatment efficacy and impact patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate factors influencing patient attrition in psychotherapy.
  • To determine if effective, standardized treatments are associated with lower dropout rates.

Main Methods:

  • Reviewed data from an effective behavior therapy clinic for anxiety disorders.
  • Analyzed 5 meta-analytic treatment reviews on psychotherapy attrition.
  • Examined patient characteristics in relation to dropout rates.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • In an effective behavior therapy clinic, only 17% of patients failed to complete a median of 60 hours of therapy.
  • Patient characteristics were not linked to attrition.
  • Meta-analyses revealed a median dropout rate of 8% after 20 hours of therapy.

Conclusions:

  • Low patient attrition is associated with effective, standardized treatments.
  • Dropout rate can serve as a proxy for evaluating the quality of mental health service delivery.