S38: Using goal setting and working alliance to deliver better outcomes for people.

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By September 26, 2017 No Comments

Authors: Grenville Rose, Lorraine Smith

Year: 2017

Event: 2017 TheMHS Conference

Subject: Wellbeing,Change, Innovation, Reform,Research & Evaluation Informing Practice

Type of resource: Conference Presentations and Papers

Abstract: This paper examines the influence of goal achievement and working alliance on personal recovery. These factors are robust in that they are an important part of any health recovery, including mental health. Support workers in Community Managed Organisations (CMOs) do not generally deliver specific psychological interventions and work with a wide variety of people, some of whom will not have a formal diagnosis, and thus it is important to identify broadly robust factors in recovery. While the merits of goal achievement and the working alliance are well established, the relationship between goal achievement working alliance and recovery has not been studied in Australian mental health CMOs. In 2014 an Australian CMO introduced a simplified, pocket sized, goal setting card and a suite of routine outcome measures to its service. The information collected in the first 14 months use of these measures was analysed. Data from 704 people found that; while success on the recovery journey varied over time, goal achievement and a strong working alliance were robustly related to improved wellbeing. Goal achievement and working alliance can both be used and measured to contribute to more efficient and effective service delivery in mental health CMOs.

Learning Objectives
Learning Objective 1: The importance of goals and working alliance and how goal setting tools, even a simple, pocket size goal setting tool, can enable people to collaboratively set and achieve goals.

Learning Objective 2: How and why goal achievement and working alliance are robust factors in mental health recovery.

References
Mann, T., de Ridder, D., & Fujita, K. (2013). Self-Regulation of Health Behavior: Social Psychological Approaches to Goal Setting and Goal Striving. Health Psychology, 32(5), 487-498.
Kirsh, B., & Tate, E. (2006). Developing a Comprehensive Understanding of the Working Alliance in Community Mental Health. Qualitative Health Research, 16(8), 1054-1074. doi:10.1177/1049732306292100

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