Liaison psychiatry ACT groups: Grounded theory analysis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding the therapeutic processes in liaison psychiatry acceptance and commitment therapy groups: A grounded theory approach.
IRAS ID
216725
Contact name
Hannah Shaw
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Canterbury Christ Church University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 1 days
Research summary
The research will explore how people experienced an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) group and their perception of what was helpful.
The ACT groups are run through a liaison psychiatry service. Individuals are referred to liaison psychiatry when they present with co-existing physical and mental health problems. An ACT group was initially set up based on suitability and clinical need. The main underpinnings of ACT are that symptom reduction is not the main objective, instead, therapy targets the relationship a person has to their unwanted experiences (Harris, 2006). It provides a good framework to be used with a range of clinical groups, particularly those experiencing chronic health conditions.
Much of the research to date on the effectiveness of ACT has been based on randomised controlled trials, which have focused on disease-specific populations e.g. chronic pain, depression. There has been no substantial research on its use with groups where individuals present with a range of different diagnoses. Furthermore, there is currently little qualitative research in the field, which looks beyond outcomes and explores processes and experience, in order to inform clinical practice.
Mason and Hargreaves (2001) published a qualitative study of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for depression in which a theory of therapeutic processes, grounded in participants experiences was developed and considered against existing cognitive models of mood disturbance. Therefore, there is a novel opportunity to do something similar for ACT.
While there is some existing theory, notably models of ACT (Hayes et al., 2011) and groups processes (Yalom, 2005) which could explain what is happening, it is not certain that the actual therapeutic processes are reflected in these. Therefore, it seems valuable to develop a model of the therapeutic processes in an ACT group based on people's experiences, which could then be discussed alongside existing models.
REC name
North East - Tyne & Wear South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/NE/0016
Date of REC Opinion
23 Jan 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion