‘A path in the woods’: Child psychotherapists’ participation in a large randomised controlled trial

Abstract

Introduction: Much literature is devoted to the gap between clinical practice and research, particularly outcome research in the form of the randomised controlled trial (RCT). However, the RCT's central role in health services policy has increasingly led to calls for psychotherapists of all theoretical backgrounds to participate in RCT research. Aims: This study explored how actual participation in outcome research may change clinicians’ attitudes towards this type of research. The specific focus is on psychoanalytic child psychotherapists’ experiences of participation in a large-scale RCT in the UK studying the effectiveness of treatments for adolescent depression. Method: Five child psychotherapists were interviewed towards the end of the planning stage of the trial, and transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Findings: Many child psychotherapists found their experience of participation in outcome research transformative, and the study identified six key ‘stages’ in the story of their evolving attitudes to outcome research. Discussion: The contribution of this study to ongoing debates about the relationship between psychotherapy research and practice is discussed.

Keywords:

• randomised controlled trials
• participation in outcome research
• clinicians' attitudes to research
• qualitative methods
• child psychotherapy