Last month I gave a days workshop ‘Better Together’ at the Maudsley Hospital for an IAPT Service, I did think it was going into the lion’s den but the hospitality was superb. The link to my presentation is below:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4i2tw7l2t4rxnfr/Better%20Together.pptx?dl=0
I presented for the first time the DAGger for groups, a questionnaire containing the dysfuntional attitudes that will often have to be circumnavigated to successfully engage someone in a group. I also spelt out how to engage in a debate about the ‘DAG’s using the vectors of validity, utility and authority. But such dialogues are not easily possible with IAPT’s standard triage, there is a need for reform to make groups properly viable. One of the problems with groups is that those most likely to benefit from groups are those least likely to agree to attend!
Groups are not the same as classes and I was struck at the Workshop by the lack of understanding that there is a strong evidence base for the former for depression and most anxiety disorders but the evidence base for the latter is extremely weak by comparison. There was also near universal acceptance that a stepped care model was intrinsically better and that not having an extended face to face conversation with a client initially was in any way problematic. Near the end I did mention my findings of a 10% recovery rate in IAPT see link below:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/flvxtq2jyhmn6i1/IAPT%20The%20Need%20for%20Radical%20Reform.pdf?dl=0
but by then attendees were either too tired/polite/fearful to say anything. But I must thank Marion Cuddy the organiser for a great day.
Dr Mike Scott