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Patients’ Reasons for “No Shows” and Premature Termination of Treatment at an Outpatient Mental Health Program

Publication: Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
15 December 2022

Abstract

One in five Canadians currently experience mental health problems, and although effective psychotherapy treatment is currently available, patients’ decision to end therapy before completing treatment impacts limited resources. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 15 patients who either did not attend a scheduled intake appointment or had dropped out of service prematurely from an outpatient mental health clinic. Overall, the overarching themes identified were overall experience with service and access, multiple factors and external circumstances, experience with group structure, group processes and interactions, and age-related differences. Younger participants shared a need for flexible and spontaneous service.

Résumé

Un Canadien sur 5 souffre de problèmes de santé mentale, et bien que des traitements psychothérapeutiques efficaces soient disponibles, les décisions de certains patients de mettre un terme à leur traitement avant la fin ou de manquer leur rendez-vous, ont une incidence sur des ressources déjà limitées. Cette étude qualitative explore l’expérience de 15 patients qui ont manqué leur rendez-vous initial à une clinique externe de services en santé mentale ou qui ont arrêté leur traitement de façon prématurée. Dans l’ensemble, les thèmes suivants ont été identifiés : l’expérience générale concernant les services et les accès, les problèmes multiples et les circonstances externes, l’expérience de la structure de groupe, les processus et interactions de groupe et les différences associées à l’âge. Les jeunes participants ont manifesté la nécessité de services flexibles et spontanés.

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References

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

cover image Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
Volume 41Number 4October 2022
Pages: 1 - 18

History

Version of record online: 15 December 2022

Key Words

  1. outpatient
  2. adult mental health
  3. drop out/no-show
  4. qualitative
  5. treatment termination

Mots-clés

  1. patient en externe
  2. santé mentale adulte
  3. abandon/non-présentation
  4. étude qualitative
  5. arrêt de traitement

Authors

Affiliations

Louise Cournoyer [email protected]
Vancouver Coastal Health
Patrice Fugah
Vancouver Coastal Health

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