Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T23:20:54.141Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Content, Quality and Impact of Cognitive Behavioural Case Formulation During Treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2014

Anna Nattrass*
Affiliation:
University of Sheffield, UK
Stephen Kellett*
Affiliation:
University of Sheffield, and Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Gillian E. Hardy
Affiliation:
University of Sheffield, UK
Tom Ricketts
Affiliation:
Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust, UK
*
Reprint requests to Anna Nattrass / Stephen Kellett, Clinical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, S10 2TN, Sheffield. E-mail: [email protected]/[email protected]
Reprint requests to Anna Nattrass / Stephen Kellett, Clinical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, S10 2TN, Sheffield. E-mail: [email protected]/[email protected]

Abstract

Background: Case formulation (CF) is considered a core component of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Despite this, few studies have explored the content and quality of CFs in routine practice and any associated impact on treatment outcome. Aims: This study investigated (1) the content, timing and quality of CF for patients (N = 29) with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; (2) the impact of CF on symptoms, distress and therapeutic alliance; and (3) the relationship between CF quality and treatment outcome. Method: CF content and quality were assessed from audiotapes of routine CBT sessions using a validated coding manual and evaluated against treatment outcomes at different stages of therapy. Results: CFs were developed early during treatment and contained strong behavioural and cognitive components, with a focus on symptoms and maintaining factors. CF quality ratings ranged from rudimentary to excellent. A significant improvement in distress and the therapeutic alliance occurred following the introduction of CF, but no significant relationship was found between CF quality and outcome at any stage of treatment. Conclusion: CF may be valuable in reducing patient attrition, due to its impact early in treatment. Further research is needed to explore the most important components of CF. Theoretically sound and disorder specific measurement tools for evaluating CFs are required.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abdi, H. (2007). Bonferroni and Sidak corrections for multiple comparisons. In Salkind, N.J. (Eds.), Encyclopaedia of Measurement and Statistics (pp. 103107). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (APA) (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Barkham, M., Margison, F., Leach, C., Lucock, M., Mellor-Clark, J., Evans, C., et al. (2001). Service profiling and outcomes benchmarking using the CORE-OM: towards practice-based evidence in the psychological therapies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69, 184196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bieling, P. J. and Kuyken, W. (2003). Is cognitive case formulation science or science fiction? Clinical Psychology-Science and Practice, 10, 5269.Google Scholar
Bobes, J., Gonzalez, M.P., Bascaran, M.T., Arango, C., Siaz, PA. and Bousono, M. (2001). Quality of life and disability in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. European Psychiatry, 16, 239245.Google Scholar
Cahill, J., Stiles, W. B., Barkham, M., Hardy, G. E., Stone, G., Agnew-Davies, R., et al. (2012). Two short forms of the Agnew Relationship Measure: the ARM-5 and ARM-12. Psychotherapy Research, 22, 241255.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chadwick, P., Williams, C. and Mackenzie, J. (2003). Impact of case formulation in cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 41, 671680.Google Scholar
Cohen, J. (1968). Weighed kappa: nominal scale agreement with provision for scaled disagreement or partial credit. Psychological Bulletin, 70, 213220.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
de Haan, E., van Oppen, P., van Balkom, A. J. L., Spinhoven, P., Hoogduin, K. A. L. and Van Dyck, R. (1997). Prediction of outcome and early vs late improvement in OCD patients treated with cognitive behaviour therapy and pharmacotherapy. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 96, 354361.Google Scholar
Eells, T. (2007). Handbook of Psychotherapy Case Formulation (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Eells, T., Lombart, K. G., Kendjelic, E. M., Turner, C. and Lucas, C. P. (2005a). Manual for Case Formulation and Treatment Plan Coding. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Eells, T., Lombart, K. G., Kendjelic, E. M., Turner, C. and Lucas, C. P. (2005b). The quality of psychotherapy case formulations: a comparison of expert, experienced, and novice cognitive behavioral and psychodynamic therapists. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 579589.Google Scholar
Emmelkamp, P., Bouman, T. and Blaauw, E. (1994). Individualized versus standardized therapy: a comparative evaluation with obsessive-compulsive patients. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 1, 95100.Google Scholar
Evans, C., Connell, J., Barkham, M., Margison, F., McGrath, G., Mellor-Clark, J., et al. (2002). Towards a standardised brief outcome measure: psychometric properties and utility of the CORE-OM. British Journal of Psychiatry, 180, 5160.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fleiss, J. L. (1981). Statistical Methods for Rates and Proportions (2nd ed.) (pp.3846). New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Foa, E. B., Liebowitz, M. R., Kozak, M. J., Davies, S. O., Campeas, R., Franklin, M. E., et al. (2005). Treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder by exposure and ritual prevention, clomipramine, and their combination: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162, 151161.Google Scholar
Goodman, W. K., Price, L. H., Rasmussen, S. A., Mazure, C., Fleischmann, R. L., Hill, C. L., et al. (1989). The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale I: development, use and reliability. Archives of General Psychiatry, 46, 10061011.Google Scholar
Gower, P. and Kuyken, W. (2011). Therapist Competence, Case Conceptualisation and Therapy Outcome in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Paper presented at the BABCP Annual conference, Guildford, July.Google Scholar
Houghton, S., Saxon, D., Bradburn, G., Ricketts, T. and Hardy, G. (2010). The effectiveness of routinely delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for obsessive compulsive disorder: a benchmarking study. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 49, 473489.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jacobson, N. S. and Truax, P. (1991). Clinical significance: a statistical approach to defining change in psychotherapy research. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 59, 1219.Google ScholarPubMed
Kuyken, W. (2006). Evidence-based case formulation: is the emperor clothed? In Tarrier, N. (Ed.), Case Formulation in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy: the treatment of challenging and complex cases. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kuyken, W., Fothergill, C. D., Musa, M. and Chadwick, P. (2003). The reliability and quality of cognitive case formulation. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 43, 11871201.Google Scholar
Kuyken, W., Padesky, C. and Dudley, R. (2008). Process issues: the science and practice of case conceptualization. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 36, 757768.Google Scholar
Kuyken, W., Padesky, C. and Dudley, R. (2009). Collaborative Case Conceptualization: working effectively with clients in cognitive-behavioural therapy. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
McManus, F., Grey, N. and Shafran, R. (2008). Cognitive therapy for anxiety disorders: current status and future directions. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 36, 695704.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) (2005). Obsessive compulsive disorder: core interventions in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder and body dismorphic disorder. Retrieved from http://www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/CG31, November.Google Scholar
Padesky, C. A, Kuyken, W. and Dudley, R. (2011). Collaborative Case Conceptualisation Rating Scale and Coding Manual. Unpublished manual.Google Scholar
Schulte, D., Kunzel, R., Pepping, G. and Schulte-Bahrenberg, T. (1992). Tailor-made versus standardized therapy of phobic patients. Advances in Behavior Research and Therapy, 14, 6792.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shrout, P. E. and Fleiss, J. L. (1979). Intraclass correlations: uses in assessing rater reliability. Psychological Bulletin, 86, 420428.Google Scholar
Siegel, S. and Castellan, N. J. (1988). Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Steketee, G. S., Frost, R. O. and Bogart, K. (1996). The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale: interview versus self-report. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 34, 675684.Google Scholar
Stiles, W. B. (2002). Assimilation of problematic experiences. In Norcross, J. C. (Eds.), Psychotherapy Relationships that Work: therapist contributions and responsiveness to patients (pp. 357365), New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Stinson, C. H., Milbrath, C., Reidbord, S. P. and Bucci, W. (1994). Thematic segmentation of psychotherapy transcripts for convergent analysis. Psychotherapy, 31, 3648.Google Scholar
Wilson, K. G. (1997). Science and treatment development: lessons from the history of behavior therapy. Behavior Therapy, 28, 547558.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (1992). International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). Geneva: World Health Organization.Google Scholar
Zivor, M., Salkovskis, P. and Kushnir, J. (2013). Formulation in cognitive behavior therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: aligning therapists, perceptions and practice. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 20, 143151.Google Scholar
Zivor, M., Salkovskis, P. and Oldfield, V. (2011). Do we need to formulate in cognitive behavioural therapy for obsessive compulsive disorder? Psicoterapia Cognitiva e Comportamentale, 17, 359368.Google Scholar
Zivor, M., Salkovskis, P. and Oldfield, V. (2013). If formulation is the heart of cognitive behavioural therapy, does this heart rule the head of CBT therapists? The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 6, 111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.