Multiple obstacles to psychological care from the viewpoint of addiction service users
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore addiction service users’ experiences of psychological interventions for depression symptoms, with an emphasis on understanding obstacles to engage with treatment.
Design/methodology/approach
This was a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with ten people who took part in a randomised controlled trial of cognitive and behavioural interventions; four of whom never engaged with treatment.
Findings
Five prominent obstacles to access therapy were: memory deficits, becoming overwhelmed by multiple demands and appointments, being housebound due to fluctuations in mental health problems, tendency to avoid the unfamiliar, and contextual life problems related to deprivation and social conflict.
Research limitations/implications
The authors note some possible limitations related to overreliance on telephone interviews and interviewers’ field notes. The authors discuss the findings in light of epidemiological research, cognitive, behavioural and motivational enhancement theories.
Practical implications
The authors propose it is important to recognise and address multiple obstacles to therapy. Offering therapy appointments that are co-located within addiction services and time-contingent to other social/medical interventions may help to address some of these obstacles.
Originality/value
The present qualitative results complement the prior experimental research and enrich the understanding of how to maximise engagement with psychological interventions.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by a research capability funding grant awarded by Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, UK. The funding source had no influence on the study design, conduct or decision to submit for publication. The authors gratefully acknowledge Elizabeth Hughes and Gail Gilchrist who conducted interviews with study participants. The authors also thank Rachel Bos and Stuart Fahey for providing administrative support with transcriptions and data management.
Citation
Gore, S., Mendoza, J. and Delgadillo, J. (2015), "Multiple obstacles to psychological care from the viewpoint of addiction service users", Advances in Dual Diagnosis, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 129-140. https://doi.org/10.1108/ADD-04-2015-0006
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited