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Improving the effectiveness of psychotherapy in two public hospitals in Nairobi

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Fredrik Falkenström ,
Matthew David Gee ,
Mary Wangari Kuria ,
Caleb Joseph Othieno  and
Manasi Kumar
Fredrik Falkenström
Affiliation:
Centre for Psychotherapy Research and Education, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, and Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm County Council, Sweden
Matthew David Gee
Affiliation:
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK; Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK
Mary Wangari Kuria
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, College of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi, Kenya
Caleb Joseph Othieno
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, College of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi, Kenya
Manasi Kumar
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, College of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi, Kenya; Research Department of Clinical Health and Educational Psychology, University College London, UK; email manni_3in@hotmail.com
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Abstract

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This paper is the first in a planned series of papers studying the effectiveness of psychotherapy and counselling in Nairobi. It describes a method for checking the effectiveness of psychotherapy and improving service quality in a Kenyan context. Rather than prematurely imposing psychotherapy protocols developed in Western countries in another cultural context, we believe that first studying psychological interventions as they are practised may generate understanding of which psychological problems are common, what interventions therapists use, and what seems to be effective in reducing psychiatric problems. The initial step is to assess outcome of psychological treatments as they are conducted. This is followed by statistical analyses aimed at identifying patient groups who are not improving at acceptable rates. Therapists will then be trained in a ‘best practice’ approach, and controlled trials are used in a final step, testing new interventions specifically targeted at patient groups with sub-optimal outcomes.

Type
Special Paper
Information
BJPsych International , Volume 14 , Issue 3 , August 2017 , pp. 64 - 66
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits noncommercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2017

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