Single-Session Therapy in a Walk-in Counseling Clinic: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Single-session therapy (SST) delivered in walk-in counseling clinics is dramatically increasing in Ontario; however, studies of the clinical effectiveness of SST are few, and those that exist are limited by weak research designs. The pilot study reported here had two objectives: 1) to learn more about the clinical effectiveness of SST as delivered in a walk-in counseling clinic and 2) to better understand how the quality of research on this model of service delivery can be improved. We measured psychological distress, stage of change as posited by the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM), recent use of health and social services, and recent ability to work and undertake normal activities in a sample of clients attending the KW Counselling Services walk-in counseling clinic in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. Follow-up data, although limited by a low response rate, suggest that clients show a decrease in distress, improvement in general functioning, and decreased use of health services one month and four months after the walk-in visit. However, clients' use of other social service organizations tended to increase following the walk-in visit. The majority of clients were in the Contemplation stage of change; having a high score on either the Contemplation or Maintenance stages was significantly related

Using Walk-In Counseling Services After Hurricane Katrina: A Program Evaluation

“…Minority and lowincome communities often fall into this category but they are not the only individuals attracted to brief interventions. Walk-in services and brief interventions have been successfully used with college students (Stalker, Horton, & Cait, 2012). The walk-in model is valuable because it simultaneously attends to a client's basic needs such as food, clothing, and psychological support.…”

Walk-in Services for Child and Family Mental Health

“…However, as the authors point out, some of the clients in the scheduled service group may have still been waiting for treatment when tested at follow-up. In the study by Stalker, Horton, and Cait (2012), no analyses could be conducted as none of the clients in the scheduled services condition responded to the follow-up Barwick et al (2013) ü…”

“…Problem Improvement Barwick et al (2013) and Stalker et al (2012) assessed walk-in clients for mental health outcomes and psychological distress, respectively, using a pre-test posttest design. Using the Brief Child and Family Phone Interview, Barwick et al (2013) found significant improvement between baseline and 3-month follow-up scores in the total mental health problems scale ( p < 0.05).…”

“…Using the Brief Child and Family Phone Interview, Barwick et al (2013) found significant improvement between baseline and 3-month follow-up scores in the total mental health problems scale ( p < 0.05). Stalker et al (2012) reported improvement in psychological distress, measured with the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), between baseline and 1-month follow-up ( p = 0.001) as well as baseline and 4-month follow-up ( p = 0.001). The attrition from baseline to follow-up, however, was considerable.…”

“…Of the four articles that noted special populations, three mentioned that clients belonged to a low income population (Bobele et al, 2008;Crismani & Galletly, 2011;Stalker et al, 2012). Three articles noted other defined populations: Hispanics (Bobele et al, 2008), Aboriginal Australians (Crismani & Galletly, 2011), and street youth (Worthington & MacLaurin, 2009).…”