A systematic approach to practice-based evidence in a psychological therapies service

This paper describes a systematic approach to generating practice-based evidence in a United Kingdom adult psychological therapies service. Routine clinical outcomes using standardised measures at referral, assessment, the beginning of therapy, discharge and six month follow up are reported. The system is integrated into the clinical service in many ways including contributing to risk assessment and feeding back clinical outcome data to the therapists. A number of issues related to such an approach are discussed in the light of the clinical governance and clinical effectiveness agendas in the UK NHS. These include practical constraints, the costs, getting staff on board, attrition from such services and service user involvement. Such an approach provides a framework for routine, systematic and integrated service evaluation that can be fed back to therapists. It contributes to the evidence for the effectiveness of psychological therapies in routine clinical settings and also provides opportunities to link evidence with practice in more creative ways to enhance therapists’ reflection on their practice.