Patient activation in psychotherapy interactions: Developing and validating the consultation interactions coding...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Healthcare Research

Background:

• Patient activation, defined as a client's confidence and perceived ability to manage their health, is crucial for effective treatment.
• Understanding in-session interactions that foster patient activation is key to improving healthcare outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an instrument for interaction-level feedback based on patient activation.
• To assess the psychometric properties and clinical utility of the developed coding scheme.

Main Methods:

• Thematic analysis of 22 cognitive behavioral therapy session transcripts from high healthcare users.
• Development and training of two coders on the Consultation Interactions Coding Scheme (CICS).
• Assessment of inter-rater reliability (IRR), convergent validity, and clinical utility.

Main Results:

• Good-to-excellent IRR was achieved for the CICS.
• Client engagement in session-structuring interactions correlated positively with treatment outcomes.
• The highest CICS scores were associated with multiple outcome improvements, while the lowest scores indicated deterioration.

Conclusions:

• The Consultation Interactions Coding Scheme (CICS) demonstrates sound psychometric properties.
• Client engagement in session-structuring interactions is a valuable indicator of therapeutic success.