The effects of psychological flexibility on therapeutic change
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Psychological flexibility as a mediator and moderator of therapeutic change
IRAS ID
260408
Contact name
Dave Dawson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Lincoln
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 9 months, 29 days
Research summary
Mental health difficulties are estimated to affect one in four of the population (Mental Health Foundation, 2016). With government cuts to the mental health sector, and a consistent trend of increasing referrals to Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services since 2011/12, there is an increasing pressure on treatment providers to meet the needs of a growing patient base. The rate of referrals to IAPT increased by over 53,000 between 2016/17 and 2017/18 (Nuffield Trust, 2018). The proportion of those who begin a course of therapy but do not complete it is considerable (41% in 2016/17), which represents a less than optimal use of resources.
Investigating common factors, those ‘active ingredients’ common to all therapies (Wampold, 2015), may inform the provision of more effective and more efficient therapeutic interventions. It is suggested that increases in ‘psychological flexibility’ (PF), the ability to attend and adapt to situational demands in pursuit of long term goals, is a mechanism of therapeutic change which may span therapeutic models (Hayes, 2006). Several hundred RCTs have demonstrated that poor mental health (in terms of higher rates of depression, anxiety, stress), and poor physical health occurs when psychological flexibility is lacking or absent (Kashdan & Rottenberg, 2010). Higher levels of PF are associated with greater life satisfaction and wellbeing.
The primary aim will be to investigate whether pre-therapy levels of psychological flexibility moderate PF treatment outcomes- which may provide information about the characteristics of those who have the best and worst treatment outcomes. This may allow steps to be taken to improve treatment outcomes, such as pre-therapy skills groups or guided self-help programmes. The secondary aim will be to investigate whether changes in PF over the course of therapy affect treatment outcomes. This information facilitates further understanding of the processes underpinning therapeutic change across therapeutic models, and may therefore allow the ‘active ingredients’ of therapy to be better understood in order that more efficient and more effective therapy be provided.REC name
London - West London & GTAC Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1170
Date of REC Opinion
23 Sep 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion