Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness Trial of Humanistic cOunselling in Schools: Individual RCT (ETHOS)

Lead Research Organisation: University of Roehampton
Department Name: Psychology

Abstract

There is a current crisis in mental health care for young people, and the UK government is trying to find ways of addressing it. Currently, approximately one in ten young people in the UK experience significant problems with their emotions or their behaviour. Schools may be a particularly good place to tackle this problem because they are somewhere that nearly all young people go to. Indeed, evidence suggests that young people are as much as ten times more likely to attend a school-based service than a non-school-based one.

Certain psychological treatments, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), can help young people address specific mental health disorders like generalised anxiety. However, the kind of psychological problems that many young people experience do not fit into such diagnostic categories. Rather, they are responses to particular life problems, such as family difficulties, bereavements and bullying. Although these difficulties may not be at a severe level, addressing them early on may be very important in helping to ensure that they do not develop into more chronic problems in later life.

In the UK, one of the most common ways to try and help young people through these problems is school-based 'counselling.' This can take a variety of forms but, in contrast to CBT, focuses mainly on providing young people with a space to talk through their problems, get things off their chest, and work things out for themselves in a supportive, confidential and understanding relationship. Initial evidence suggests that counselling is very popular with young people and their teachers, and there is some scientific evidence -- including PhD work funded through the ESRC -- that a standardised form of school-based counselling (school-based humanistic counselling) reduces psychological distress and improvements in self-esteem. However, to properly inform government decision-making, better evidence is needed to test whether it really is of help.

To provide this evidence, we will conduct a study in 18 English secondary schools. We will provide some young people (aged 13-16) who are experiencing psychological difficulties with up to 10 weeks of school-based humanistic counselling while others will receive their school's usual pastoral care. Decisions about who gets what will be made on a random basis, as this gives us the best chance of working out if the therapy really works. After six weeks, three and six months, we will look at whether those young people who received the counselling are experiencing less psychological distress than those who did not. We will also look at whether the benefits of providing the counselling service justify the costs. This is important as there might be better ways of spending the money to improve well being in schools. In addition, we will look at whether the counselling helps young people improve their resilience, self-esteem and engagement with education; and what they -- and their teachers and parents/carers -- think is helpful and unhelpful about counselling.

This research is important because school counselling may be able to make a major contribution to improving the psychological wellbeing of young people in the UK. The project team have extensive experience of conducting studies like this, and the current design has been tested and shown to work. The costs of the trial cover the work of the project team along with involvement from a specialist trials unit at Manchester University. Members of the project team have also been closely involved in recent policy initiatives regarding children's mental health.

The safety of young people is a major concern. We will not include any young person who is at risk of harm to self or other, but refer them to specialist support. We will assess young people in the study and arrange for appropriate support for them if we become concerned about them. We will also ensure the highest levels of anonymity and confidentiality for participants.

Planned Impact

In 2014, Norman Lamb, the UK Minister for Care and Support, along with the All-Party Parliamentary Committee for Health, acknowledged the urgent need for new evidence-based studies to develop and improve the provision of mental health support for children and young people with behavioural and emotional difficulties.

As a fully-powered effectiveness and qualitative study of the successfully piloted School-based Humanistic Counselling (SBHC) intervention, the ETHOS study has the potential to make a major contribution at national level in the development of services to support young people's mental health. Both the Department of Health (DoH) and Department for Education (DfE) are currently considering the roll-out of school-based counselling in England, but decision making is hampered by a lack of sufficiently reliable evidence. By combining an RCT with an economic analysis, ETHOS research will provide data and analysis with the potential to validate a scaling up of SBHC to all secondary schools in England and Scotland. Already, results from pilot studies of SBHC, led by CI (Cooper), have been cited in evaluation reports underpinning the decision by the Welsh Government to require local authorities to provide an independent counselling service for young people in their area.

At present around 65% of schools in England and Scotland claim to provide young people with access to counselling, with around 60,000 young people attending counselling in England each year (Cooper, 2013). However, delivery is patchy and inconsistent, and the kind of counselling being provided is unclear and, in most cases, untested. Findings from the ETHOS trial may therefore support a wider and more consistent dissemination of this intervention. It can also help to ensure that the kind of school-based counselling being provided is evidence-based: of a form that has been shown to significantly reduce levels of psychological distress in young people.

In addition to impacting national policy-making, ETHOS research can provide an evidence-base to support decision making at local level by local authority commissioners, headteachers and directors of children's services in relation to mental health interventions in schools.

As an early intervention evaluation, ETHOS research may also provide DoH analysts with data to identify an opportunity to relieve pressure on specialist outpatient and inpatient CAMHS.

A key instrument in the ETHOS study will be the newly-developed competency framework for humanistic counselling with young people, from which a new manual and adherence scale for 11-18 year olds will be tested and developed. The SBHC manual will set new benchmarks for the practice of counselling interventions and will be made available via the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) to counsellors and psychotherapists working with young people (CYP). The manual will also form the basis for the development of a training curriculum and other (DVD format) training material for counsellors working with young people.

Ultimately, the impact of the ETHOS study will be on the wellbeing of young people, themselves, and the families, schools and communities within which they are embedded. Research suggests that around 45% of young people who participate in school-based counselling will move from clinical levels of psychological distress to non-clinical levels. Qualitative reports from teachers also suggest that approximately 80% of young people who participate in SBHC will experience improvements in their capacities to engage with studying and learning, particularly in terms of being able to concentrate more in class. If SBHC can be shown, through a fully-powered trial, to causally determine these effects, and if it is rolled out across England and Scotland, then hundreds of thousands of young people -- over the coming years -- will be able to accrue the benefits of this intervention.

Publications

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Pattison E (2024) Dissatisfied dropout from school-based humanistic counselling: A theory-building case series in Counselling and Psychotherapy Research

 
Description Our main finding was that, 12 weeks from assessment, those who had participated in counselling reported significantly less psychological distress than those who had not. These differences were still present 12 weeks later; and were not affected by factors such as clients' gender, age, or ethnicity. However, the differences between the two groups was relatively modest: about two points on our 'Young Person's CORE (YP-CORE)' measure of psychological distress, which ranges from 0 to 40.

We also found that counselling brought about medium to large improvements on the clients' individual goals (for instance, feeling more confident, improving their relationships with their parents/carers, or controlling their anger), and self-esteem across all time points; and small improvements in wellbeing and psychological difficulties at 12 weeks. However, the counselling had no significant effect on symptoms of anxiety and depression. It also had no effect on the young people's willingness to engage with school; or on other educational outcomes, such as attendance and exclusion rates, number of disciplinary proceedings, and predicted grades. In addition, we found that the counselling did not bring about reductions in the use of other services, such as pastoral care support or GPs. Economically, then, the cost of the counselling was not offset by other service savings-at least not over the 24 week period.

Surprisingly, we found more 'adverse events'-such as school exclusions and self-harm-in the counselling group. However, this may have been because they were seeing the counsellors every week, and therefore may have been more likely to report such events.
Exploitation Route Our findings will provide critical information for commissioners (primarily school headteachers) on whether school-based counselling services should be (or should continue to be) funded. They will show whether this intervention is actually helping the young people, and then what the costs are for the amount of improvement expected to be attained.

Our findings will also provide very important information for the Department for Education, as well as other government bodies (e.g., NHS England), on the role that school-based counselling should play as part of a national strategy on children and young people's mental heath, informing both recommendations and policy.

Clinically, our findings will be able to inform developments in counselling interventions for children and young people. At an academic level, they will also help to inform theories of psychological change, and provide a basis for further research on counselling interventions with children and young people.

Most importantly, perhaps, these findings will be able to inform young people and parents about the potential benefits of school-based humanistic counselling, and help them make more informed decisions about whether or not this intervention is the right one for them.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy

Education

Healthcare

URL https://www.roehampton.ac.uk/research-centres/centre-for-research-in-social-and-psychological-transformation/ethos/
 
Description The principal finding of the ETHOS trial were that school-based humanistic counselling had significant, but small to moderate, levels of effectiveness in reducing psychological distress in young people. We also found that there were elements of the humanistic practice that a significant minority of the young people did not find helpful: in particular, the lack of active input at times and silences. Professional bodies and training: The findings of the ETHOS trial, particularly regards problems with silence and a lack of input, have now been incorporated into the competences of the BACP for all counsellors training to work with children and young people. This will directly inform practice. Practitioners: The findings of the study have been presented to counsellors and psychotherapists in a range of fora (including conference and professional magazines), and has raised considerable debate about best practice of humanistic counselling: in particular, the need for counsellors to take a more active stance. Government and policymakers: The findings of the ETHOS trial have been cited in a 2021 government debate on school-based counselling, showing evidence for the effectiveness of this approach. Presentation of the findings has also been made to Welsh education policymakers. Schools and school staff: Again, the ETHOS findings have been presented in a variety of fora. Although specific impacts have yet to be identified, we expect the findings to influence school's decisions about the appointment of school-based counsellors.
First Year Of Impact 2020
Sector Education,Healthcare
Impact Types Policy & public services

 
Description Citation in NASUWT report to UK Parliamentary Select Committee
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
Impact The study underpins written evidence submitted by NASUWT - The Teachers' Union to UK Parliamentary Select Committee on children and young people's mental health: 'A study led by the University of Roehampton, in collaboration with the BACP, found school-based humanistic counselling led to significant reductions in pupils' psychological distress over the long-term, compared to pupils who only received pastoral care (Cooper et al., 2021). The study also found pupils who were offered counselling experienced significantly improved self-esteem, as well as large increases in their achievement of personal goals. This type of counselling costs between £300 and £400 per pupil.'
URL https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/117896/pdf/
 
Description Revision of BACP 's Competences for work with children and young people (4-18 years)
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact The BACP CYP Competence framework underpins training for counsellors working with children and young people in the UK. Revisions of these competences will feed through into the training of practitioners working with this client group.
 
Description BACP PhD Scholarship
Amount £99 (GBP)
Organisation British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 08/2020 
End 09/2023
 
Title Adverse Events Protocol 
Description A novel and detailed protocol for monitoring, assessing, and recording adverse events was developed as part of the ETHOS trial. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2018 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact Elements of this protocol have been adopted by a large national trial of mental health interventions. Preliminary details of our adverse events protocol are available at in our protocol paper. We aim to publish a detailed paper detailing the development, and nature, of this protocol in 2020. The full protocol is available on request (please contact the Chief Investigator). 
URL https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-018-2538-2
 
Title ETHOS Clinical Practice Manual 
Description The ETHOS Clinical Practice Manual was commissioned as part of the ETHOS trial, to provide guidance and a resource for the project. Its aim was to support training and the delivery of counselling within the trial. The Manual sets out the context and procedures of the ETHOS trial as well as the principles of humanistic counselling, the practice of humanistic therapy, and the range of interventions available to practitioners working with young people in schools. The purpose of the clinical practice manual was to provide a 'boundary around the intervention' that allowed practitioners to be appropriately responsive to each individual client. The ETHOS Clinical Practice Manual was first authored by Rebecca Kirkbride (University of Roehampton), and edited by Susan McGinnis (University of Strathclyde) and Mick Cooper (University of Roehampton). It was formatted by Tiffany Rameswari. The Manual draws on key material from the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP, 2014) 'Competences for humanistic counselling with young people (11-18 years)'. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2016 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact The manual formed the basis for the book, Kirkbride, R. (2017). Counselling young people: A practitioner manual. London: Sage. This text has been well-received and has been used in the training of counselling practitioners with young people. 
URL https://www.amazon.co.uk/Counselling-Young-People-Practitioner-Manual/dp/1473992125/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_...
 
Title ETHOS Supervision Adherence Scale 
Description We developed a three item scale to assess the appropriateness of supervisors' work in supporting school-based humanistic practice 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2018 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Available on request from the chief investigator 
 
Title Person-Centred & Experiential Psychotherapy Scale - Young Person Supervision Version (PCEPS-YP-S) 
Description Along with the PCEPS-YP that was developed to rate audio segments of counselling sessions, we also developed a shortened, 4-item version, that could be used in supervision sessions. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2017 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact In development. 
 
Title Person-Centred and Experiential Psychotherapy Scale - Young Person Counselling Version 
Description Susan McGinnis and Robert Elliott (University of Strathclyde) were commissioned to adapt the Person-Centred and Experiential Psychotherapy Scale (PCEPS) so that it could be used with young people to assess the adherence of practice to person-centred/humanistic competences. The nine item PCEPS-YP measure which was created was used, in the ETHOS trial, to assess 20 minute segments of recording of counselling sessions. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2016 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact We aim to publish details of the PCEPS-YP, along with its psychometric properties, in 2020. The adult versions are available via the URL below. 
URL https://sites.google.com/site/pcepsresources/home/pceps-versions
 
Title ETHOS Data 
Description Quantitative datasets are: (a) participants' demographic details, number of sessions (SBHC only), use of pastoral care, and adverse events; (b) outcomes at assessment, 6 weeks, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks (Young Person's CORE, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Warwick and Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, Client Service Receipt Inventory, Goal-based Outcomes (and goal texts), and the Experience of Service Questionnaire); (c) process measures at six weeks: Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory, Working Alliance Inventory (SBHC only), and session-by-session Outcome Rating Scale; (d) educational outcomes (attendance, exclusion, predicted grades), (e) adherence ratings for counsellors and supervisors. Basic descriptive data are also available for schools, counsellors, and counsellors' supervisors. Qualitative datasets are semi-structured interviews with participants, parents/carers, and pastoral care staff regarding their experiences of, and views on, the school-based counselling. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2021 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact TBD 
URL https://reshare.ukdataservice.ac.uk/853764/
 
Description Article in 2021/3 Gesprächspsychotherapie und Personzentrierte Beratung 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact This was a translated article of the primary findings of ETHOS for the German person-centred practitioner journal, Gesprächspsychotherapie und Personzentrierte Beratung (2021/3).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.gwg-ev.org/verlag-shop/gwg-verlag/detail/20213-gespraechspsychotherapie-und-personzentri...
 
Description Article in BACP magazine Therapy Today 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact This was a feature article in the BACP magazine Therapy Today (circulation 50,000+), which featured the findings of the ETHOS study. The article uses these findings to argue strongly for the need to reconsider the practices of humanistic counselling. Provoked debate in the field as featured in the letters' page of Therapy Today.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.bacp.co.uk/bacp-journals/therapy-today/2021/september-2021/the-big-issue/
 
Description Article in SecEd 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Article in the national online teacher site 'SecEd'
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.sec-ed.co.uk/best-practice/school-counselling-what-does-the-evidence-say-about-what-work...
 
Description Article in professional journal British Journal of Child Health 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Professional journal article: Cooper, M. (2021). School counselling: The evidence for what works. British Journal of Child Health, 2(2), 101-102. https://doi.org/10.12968/chhe.2021.2.2.101
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://doi.org/10.12968/chhe.2021.2.2.101
 
Description Case study presentation at 'OCD in Society: the Future of Critical OCD Studies' 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation: Brief humanistic counselling with an adolescent client experiencing obsessive-compulsive difficulties: A theory-building case study. by Stuart Ralph at 'OCD in Society: the Future of Critical OCD Studies', 28 - 29 May 2021 Online Conference. Aim: to inform practitioners and wider audiences about the effects of the humanistic counselling intervention on OCD. Sparked questions and discussion.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Citation in BACP School Counselling Document 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact ETHOS study is cited as principal evidence for school-based counselling:

'There is robust research evidence that school-based counselling has a significant positive impact on young people's levels of psychological distress, self-esteem and achievement of personal goals (Cooper et al, 2021) over and above the positive effects that a school's existing pastoral care provision can provide.'
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.bacp.co.uk/media/18296/bacp-school-based-counselling-essential-guide-july-2023.pdf
 
Description Discussion (online and email) with DfE Research Leads on implications of qualitative findings for school mental health strategy 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact This was an online presentation and discussion, with additional email communication, with approximately 15 Research Leads for the Department of Education, looking at the implications for school mental health strategy of the ETHOS qualitative findings. The discussion was particularly in reference to DfE guidance on counselling as well as the links between counselling and mental health teams.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Distribution of main findings to professional networks 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Posting of main findings from study, with links to main open access outcome paper, to professional networks. This includes social media sites and networks (Facebook, Twitter, Linked IN) and also a posting to the 50,000+ members of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy via their eBulletin
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description ETHOS study Website 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact This ETHOS website has evolved to contain all information about the trial, targetted towards a lay audience, as well as policy-makers, researchers and practitioners. The site includes: background to the trial, methods, key quantitative and qualitative results, list of publications, data sharing information including links to download, resources from the trial available to download (including manuals protocols, and plans; adherence measures developed for the trial; logs developed for the trial; forms and measures developed for the trial), presentations, press releases, video demonstrations of counselling practice, list of further reading.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016,2017,2018,2019,2020,2021
URL https://www.roehampton.ac.uk/research-centres/centre-for-research-in-social-and-psychological-transf...
 
Description Interview in National Counselling Society student magazine: 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Interview in National Counselling Society student magazine: http://cm.nationalcounsellingsociety.org/books/tmep/#p=6
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL http://cm.nationalcounsellingsociety.org/books/tmep/#p=6
 
Description Keynote at BACP Research Conference 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Keynote lecture presenting results of the study at the Annual Conference of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Meeting with Department for Education Research Team 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Presenter of main research findings from ETHOS to a group of Department for Education Researchers/policy makers
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Meeting with Place2Be 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presented main findings of researcher to senior managers and practitioners at Place2Be, a child counselling charity
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Meeting with Place2Be Research Advisory Group 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The ETHOS findings were presented to a meeting of the Place2Be Research Advisory Group, one of the foremost providers of school counselling in the UK. This led to discussion of the impact of the findings on the P2B model of counselling practice.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Paper symposium at BACP Research Conference 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Symposium of three research papers from ETHOS at BACP Research Conference 2021: Duncan: Goals; Raynham: Satisfaction; Saxon: moderators. Aim to inform audience of mainly professional practitioners of findings from ETHOS. Raised interest in findings.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Parliamentary debate: Contribution to evidence for debate 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Findings from the ETHOS study were cited in a parliamentary debate on school-based counselling services (9 Nov 2021). Specifically, the Right hon Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle Upon Tyne East, Labour) drawing on BACP-provided evidence that 'Schools-based counselling is a proven intervention for children and young people experiencing psychological distress'. This specifically refers to findings of the ETHOS trial. Also from Will Quince, Parliamentary under-secretary of state for education, stating that 'The guidance [DFE guidance on school counselling] sets out our strong expectation that, over time, all schools will offer counselling services, alongside other interventions, because evidence suggests that counselling can have a positive effect, in particular on children's psychological distress, self-esteem and general wellbeing'. This again was directly from our ETHOS findings. https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2021-11-09/debates/829A71F8-C2BF-4333-A5AC-066C9DBDF98A/School-BasedCounsellingServices and https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2021-11-09/debates/8930AFD7-DA3B-41A0-881C-3EA7A73CD72C/School-BasedCounsellingServices
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2021-11-09/debates/829A71F8-C2BF-4333-A5AC-066C9DBDF98A/School...
 
Description Personally emailed information to key policy makers and researchers 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Information about principal findings, and invitation to a seminar presenting findings, emailed to a range of key policy-makers, networks, and other stakeholders: Schools, Students, and Teachers Network; Tim Loughton/APPG for Children; Marcus Fysh/APPG for Education; Stem4.org.uk (supporting teenage mental health); Anna Freud Centre; PHSE Association; Samaritans; MindEd Consortium members (via Leah Mair); Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition Network (via e-bulletin)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Presentation of Findings at PROSE (Departmental seminar) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Online seminar presentation for Departmental seminar series of main quantitative and qualitative findings of study. Wide number of stakeholders invited, including professional practitioners, third sector, government ministers, policy makers, school staff.

ABSTRACT
Does school counselling help? Is it cost-effective? And how might it bring about change? The ETHOS study, conducted between 2016 and 2018 in 18 London secondary schools, was the largest ever trial of school counselling in the UK. It looked at the effects of a person-centred (aka humanistic) counselling intervention, of up to 10 weeks, on 13 - 16 years old with emotional symptoms. Outcomes were assessed at mid-counselling, end of counselling, and three months from end of counselling; and compared against those for young people receiving usual pastoral care only. The study looked at a range of outcome indicators including psychological distress, attainment of personal goals, and educational attainment. An economic analysis was also conducted to see if the counselling was cost-effective; and in-depth interviews were carried out with 50 of the young people who received counselling to understand more about the ways in which the counselling might facilitate-and inhibit-change. This keynote talk from Mick Cooper, Chief Investigator for the trial, will present the key outcome findings from the study, along with preliminary analyses of the qualitative data regarding helpful and unhelpful factors, and processes of change.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/proseroehampton-psychology-talk-tickets-141298703225?fbclid=IwAR0ZuU-...
 
Description Presentation to the Welsh National Strategy for Research and Educational Enquiry Seminar Series 2021-2022 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact A presentation of the key ETHOS findings was made (15/12/2021) to the Welsh National Strategy for Research and Educational Enquiry Seminar Series 2021-2022.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Press release for main findings 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Press release of principal findings of main outcome paper. Distributed to all major newspapers and news networks. Reported in the following press outlets: Irish News, Mental Health Today, Children and Young People Now, Happiful, Medical Express/Science X, Florida News Times
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.irishnews.com/news/educationnews/2021/01/27/news/school-counselling-can-help-young-peopl...
 
Description Publication of blog article in person-centred network 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Publication of brief article summarising and critically discussing results of ETHOS trial to professional network of person-centred therapists.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Submission of main findings to Health and Social Care Committee's Children and young people's mental health Inquiry 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Main findings from ETHOS study submitted to the Health and Social Care Committee's Children and young people's mental health Inquiry
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1001/children-and-young-peoples-mental-health/