title: Brief acceptance-based intervention for increasing intake attendance at a community mental health center.
abstract: Intake no-show rates for psychotherapy vary from 20% to 57% (Swenson & Pekarik, 1988), and experiential avoidance may be related to failure to attend intake sessions. This pilot study attempted to increase intake attendance at a community mental health center by employing a brief experiential acceptance-based intervention. Those who scheduled intakes were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups: orientation letter or acceptance-enhanced orientation letter; rates from these conditions were compared with a retrospective comparison control group. Participants were randomized by way of an online random number generator. Persons assigned to the orientation group did not have a higher show rate than persons within the control group (∼48% compared with ∼52%). Persons assigned to the acceptance group did have higher show rates than persons in the other two groups (∼67% compared with ∼48% and ∼52%, respectively), however this difference was nonsignificant. Results suggest that brief acceptance-based interventions should be further studied for their potential value in maximizing client attendance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Williston
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Studies in Psychology, Kean University.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Block-Lerner
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Studies in Psychology, Kean University.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wolanin
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Studies in Psychology, Kean University.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gardner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D003155:Community Mental Health Centers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010865:Pilot Projects