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Individuals with an intellectual disability (ID) develop mental health difficulties at similar rates to individuals in the general population. Using Patient Reported Outcome Measures can help track deterioration and improve the outcomes of individuals seeking help for their difficulties. The Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation-Learning Disabilities (CORE-LD) is a multi-trait measure of psychological distress which has shown moderate test-rest reliability. However, the CORE-LD is yet to be validated for the population it was designed for. Therefore the purpose of this paper is to establish the concurrent validity of the CORE-LD in a population of individuals with a diagnosis of mild–moderate ID.

Participants with a diagnosis of mild–moderate ID, as well as other co-morbidities, were recruited from two UK inpatient hospitals and asked to complete the CORE-LD and its general population counterpart the Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure (CORE-OM).

Statistically significant differences were found regarding the CORE-LD across gender, with females scoring higher on the CORE-LD than males. There was no significant difference between security levels. The overall mean scores on each measure were moderately correlated. The data from this analysis suggest a significant positive correlation (r_s=0.68).

This initial study’s findings have demonstrated the CORE-LD may have concurrent validity, and further replication studies in larger and more diverse samples are needed.

With the increased need for quantitative measures of accountability and effectiveness in the therapeutic setting, standardised outcome measures have come to the fore. This study aimed to assess the psychometric quality of the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (CORE‐OM) used with an Irish population of adult victims of childhood abuse. The study indicated that the outcome measure was a useful tool in a forensic therapeutic setting, despite issues regarding the CORE's factor structure. The study also found that the service assessed matched the benchmarks laid down by the CORE systems group regarding levels of change brought about by therapeutic interventions, further indicating the benefits of CORE. The study discusses these issues and possible recommendations for aiding better integration of CORE's findings within therapy and broader clinical practice.

This study seeks to establish whether the published test characteristics of the CORE (Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation Measure) outcome measure can be reproduced in a therapeutic forensic setting. The measure has been designed to address the needs of psychological therapy services for clinical, audit and management feedback regardless of the clinical setting, mode of therapy, or specific problems (clinical population) of the patients (CORE System Group, 1998). Data was collected on 53 men and compared with the normative data for clinical and non‐clinical samples published in the CORE manual.The findings show that:• the inmate sample means fall between those of the clinical and non‐clinical samples• the internal consistency of the measure was found to be generally as good as that claimed by the authors of the test• the test/retest stability figures were lower in the inmate sample• age effects were generally the same as those quoted in the manual• the refusal rate and incidence of missing items indicate that the test had good acceptability by the forensic group.It is concluded that CORE is a useful tool in a therapeutic forensic setting.

To replicate the Luton pilot study (Andrews et al., 2011), both by investigating treatment changes using the Human Givens (HG) approach via a practice research network (PRN) and by assessing the viability of replacing the 34-item Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) with the ten-item version (CORE-10).

Clients were included if they were offered the HG approach to manage psychological distress and attended at least one measured treatment session following their initial assessment. Pre-post treatment effect size (Cohen's d) was benchmarked against data from Clark et al. (2009). Potential differences in treatment effects based on type of termination (planned vs unplanned) and medication use were examined.

High correlation between the CORE-10 and CORE-OM and near-identical calculated effect sizes support the utilisation of CORE-10 as a routine outcome measure. Pre-post treatment effect size suggests that clients treated using the HG approach experienced relief from psychological distress.

There was no experimental control nor evidence about the precise components of the HG treatment. Data on problem description and duration may not be reliable.

This larger study, involving thousands of cases in a wide variety of settings, reinforces the findings from the pilot study as to the plausibility of the HG approach in the relief of emotional distress.

The viability of using a ten-item scale to reliably measure treatment effectiveness will allow organisations to assess the quality of their treatment with minimal disruption to their service delivery allowing for true evidence-based practice. A PRN provides a suitable mechanism to assess psychotherapy treatment effectiveness in real-world settings.

Data gathered from routine clinical settings is complementary to evidence garnered from controlled efficacy trials. The purpose of this paper is to present individual-level analysis of changes in a group of patients discharged from psychological therapy within an outpatient pain service. The service had recently shifted from a traditional cognitive-behavioural approach to one underpinned by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

Reliable and clinically significant change methodology was applied to CORE-10 outcomes for 27 patients discharged during 2013-2014. Outcomes were compared to 2012-2013. A patient satisfaction questionnaire was administered and functional outcomes were collated.

Outcomes were not adversely affected by the shift in service focus as clients demonstrating reliable improvement increased from 2012-2013; 81 per cent reliably improved, 44 per cent made a clinically significant improvement. Increases in returning to work/unpaid activities at post-treatment were noted. The service met a number of NICE quality standards concerning the “relational” aspects of care.

Clinical effectiveness is evaluated through one outcome measure thereby limiting conclusions. The longer term effectiveness of the service remains unclear. Narrow demographic information limits an assessment of any systematic biases in findings. Little is known about treatment drop-outs.

A number of recommendations concerning data collection and future service evaluations are made.

Returning to paid or unpaid activities has a high public health impact.

This paper contributes towards the evidence base for using psychological therapies with clients experiencing chronic pain and related distress. Importantly, the paper complements evidence for general efficacy (from large-scale controlled studies) through an evaluation of real-world effectiveness (i.e. practice-based evidence).

Rewind is a trauma-focussed exposure technique that is part of Human Givens (HG) therapy. However, there have been no controlled studies examining the effectiveness or acceptability of Rewind, and a previous study comparing HG therapy outcomes with cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) benchmarks has yet to be replicated. The paper aims to address these issues.

This preliminary investigation used an observational, quasi-experimental design. Using both between-subject and within-subject designs, the outcome measures of those who had Rewind in the second session and participants who had treatment-as-usual (TAU) in the second session followed by Rewind in the third session were compared. Pre–post treatment scores were used to evaluate the overall HG therapy and to compare with benchmarks.

Rewind was more effective than control treatment sessions, with 40 per cent recovered and 57 per cent having reliably improved or recovered after the Rewind treatment session. Rewind sessions were rated as acceptable as other treatment sessions. The effect size of HG therapy was above the CBT Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation Outcome-10 (CORE-10) benchmark of 1.22. The recovery rate for treatment completers was 63 per cent, with 91 per cent recovered or reliably improved and was equivalent to the top quartile of services.

Rewind is a promising alternative trauma treatment, as people need not discuss details of the trauma, multiple traumas can be treated in one session and fewer treatment sessions may be needed.

There are few HG studies reported in the peer-reviewed literature. This preliminary study is the first controlled study of Rewind. The findings are also in line with previous research on HG therapy.

Psychometrically sound measures are essential for clinical practice to provide appropriate therapeutic input. Vlissides et al. (2016) reviewed measures used in psychological therapies with people who have intellectual disabilities (ID). This paper aims to review the evidence for the psychometric properties of recent clinical measures published since/overlooked by Vlissides et al. (2016).

A literature search was conducted to identify relevant clinical measures. Experts in the field also were contacted. Twenty papers were identified, relating to five novel clinical measures: psychological therapies outcome scale – intellectual disabilities, clinical outcome in routine evaluation – learning disabilities scale 30, quality of early relatedness rating scale, scale of emotional development – short and the Frankish assessment of the impact of trauma.

Evidence was found supporting a proportion of the psychometric properties of each measure, and some measures were found to be useful in directing interventions and informing clinical decisions. None of the measures identified, however, are yet to be fully psychometrically investigated, requiring further research.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to review the evidence of psychometric properties for these five emerging clinical measures and as such contributes an original perspective on their current state and requirements for future development.

The purpose of this paper is to establish staff and patient opinions on the acceptability, feasibility, and utility of using the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluations – Outcome Measure (CORE‐OM) in secure hospitals.

Patients and nurses (male patients and their key workers) from high, medium and low secure hospitals participated in semi‐structured interviews after completing CORE‐OM or CORE‐OM (SV).

Template themes were acceptability, feasibility, relevance, suitability, changes to treatment, and understanding. Findings suggest that the CORE‐OM is acceptable and potentially useful in secure settings.

This paper suggests that the CORE‐OM is acceptable to patients and staff in secure settings and appears to be a feasible measure for such settings. Further research and accumulation of a referential database of item scores is needed for PROMS, including the CORE‐OM, to be fully useful in secure settings.

This paper will be of use to clinicians working with forensic mental health settings. It is one of only two papers which investigate the use of the CORE‐OM in forensic settings.

Individuals living in areas of higher deprivation are more likely to have requested mental health treatment but are less likely to have received treatment or benefitted from it. Less is known about the extent of access equality and treatment outcomes for individuals with a long-term health condition who experience mental health difficulties. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the extent to which the neighbourhood Index of Multiple Deprivation predicted access to treatment, appointment attendance, treatment completion and clinical outcomes in a British health psychology clinic.

Retrospective data were used from 479 individuals referred to a health psychology clinic over 12 months. Clinical outcomes were measured using the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation – Outcome Measure. Patient data were linked with their neighbourhood Index of Multiple Deprivation decile. Data were analysed using correlation, linear regression and Fisher’s exact test.

There were no significant associations between deprivation and whether an individual attended assessment, attended treatment or completed treatment or between deprivation and patients’ clinical outcomes. Exploratory evidence indicated that individuals from higher deprivation neighbourhoods may be over-represented in clinic referrals, and individuals from lower deprivation neighbourhoods may be under-represented, compared with local population distribution estimates.

This evaluation provides insights into treatment outcomes and deprivation in those with physical health difficulties. Further evaluation using a larger sample and comparing referrals with local prevalence estimates of comorbid mental and physical health problems would enable greater confidence in the conclusion that no evidence of inequality on the basis of neighbourhood deprivation was found.

Clift and Morrison (2011) report that weekly singing over eight months for people with enduring mental health issues led to clinically important reductions in mental distress. The purpose of this paper is to test the robustness of the earlier findings.

Four community singing groups for people with mental health issues ran weekly from November 2014 to the end of 2015. Evaluation place over a six-month period using two validated questionnaires: the short Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (CORE-10) questionnaire, and the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS).

In all, 26 participants completed baseline and follow-up questionnaires. CORE-10 scores were significantly reduced, and WEMWBS scores significantly increased. Comparisons with the earlier study found a similar pattern of improvements on CORE items that are part of the “problems” sub-scale in the full CORE questionnaire. There was also evidence from both studies of participants showing clinically important improvements in CORE-10 scores.

The main limitations of the study are a small sample size and the lack of a randomised control group.

No attempts have been made previously to directly test the transferability of a singing for health model to a new geographical area and to evaluate outcomes using the same validated measure.