Outcome Study Findings of an Intensive Outpatient Program for Missionaries and Clergy

Abstract

This article reports the findings of an outcome study done at ALONGSIDE, a counseling-focused retreat center that offers three-week intensive outpatient programs for Christian leaders, the majority of whom are missionaries. Repeated measures research utilized the Outcome Questionnaire - 45.2 (OQ-45.2) to explore whether or not clients participating in the three-week intensive outpatient program realized significant clinical progress and whether or not therapeutic gains were retained after the conclusion of the program. Missionaries and other Christian leaders took the inventory online a month before coming to ALONGSIDE, upon arrival, at the end of the three-week program, and three months after the program concluded. The results indicated that a month of time before arrival did not bring about a significant reduction in symptomatology among the 191 subjects, but three weeks of ALONGSIDE's intensive outpatient program resulted in significant clinical improvement which remained when the inventory was taken again three months post-program. This suggests that in a fairly short period of time, an intensive outpatient program consisting of psycho-education, group psychotherapy, and individual and/or marital counseling within a milieu of intentional Christian community can be a highly effective model for promoting enduring psychological healing.

An Unfortunate Comparison of Apples to Oranges: Comment on Jensma (2016)

“…These findings are visually represented in Figure 1. Table 1 compares the mean OQ-45.2 scores over time from this analysis with those of Jensma (2016). Thus, the proper followup data for comparison purposes revealed that three months after treatment, OQ-45.2 means for Link Care's participants maintained very similar symptom patterns for those in both treatment duration groups, with absolute reductions quite analogous to those of Jensma's (2016) participants.…”

“…I was initially pleased to see Jensma's (2016) research suggesting the effectiveness of Alongside's intensive outpatient psychotherapy (IOP) program. Clearly, empirical evidence of an IOP program's therapeutic value is required if the costs of such programs are to be justified.…”

“…When these clients stay beyond the initial month, what I have witnessed is the real issues that may have been concealed heretofore often come to the surface in the here-and-now of Link Care's program. Instead of being limited to talking about events that happened some time before the client's referral, where perspectives between missionary or clergy and their referring organization can differ greatly, treatment focus can move to problem behavior that is being currently Table 1 Mean OQ-45.2 Scores by Treatment Duration from Rosik et al (2009) and Jensma (2016) observed by the treatment team and/or reported to the treatment team by family members, other participants in the program, and support staff. This helps ensure a much more emotionally honest, engaged, and (often times) intense therapeutic process that works through client defenses and creates a solid beginning toward healing, which enables lasting change to occur.…”

Apples or Oranges—Does the Fruit Remain? A Response to Rosik (2017)

“…In Rosik's (2017) response to my previous article (Jensma, 2016), he indicates that I made an unfortunate comparison between his earlier study (Rosik, 2011) and the outcome study in my article. I agree that such a comparison would be "apples and oranges"-as he calls it-and inappropriate.…”

“…The purpose of my article (Jensma, 2016) was to present the results of the outcome study done at ALONGSIDE, which indicates that clients see significant progress in our three-week IOP and that the progress remains three months post-treatment. The purpose of the article was to address the question, "Is ALONGSIDE's program effective in the first place, and does the effectiveness of ALONGSIDE's threeweek program endure?"…”