Therapists’ perceptions and acceptability of providing internet-delivered guided self-help Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for family carers of people with dementia (iACT4CARERS): a qualitative study

Contreras, Milena, Van Hout, Elien ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2956-7575, Farquhar, Morag ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7991-7679, Gould, Rebecca, McCracken, Lance, Hornberger, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2214-3788, Richmond, Erica and Kishita, Naoko ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8453-2714 (2021) Therapists’ perceptions and acceptability of providing internet-delivered guided self-help Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for family carers of people with dementia (iACT4CARERS): a qualitative study. Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 14 (2). ISSN 1754-470X

[thumbnail of Therapists_qualitative_study_accepted_manuscript]
Preview
PDF (Therapists_qualitative_study_accepted_manuscript) - Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives.

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

This study aimed to explore therapists' perceptions and acceptability of providing internet-delivered, therapist-guided, self-help acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for family carers of people with dementia (iACT4CARERS). To achieve this, a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews was employed with eight novice therapists recruited from primary and secondary care services taking part in a feasibility study of iACT4CARERS. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed using thematic analysis. Four over-arching themes were identified: (1) positive attitudes towards the intervention, (2) therapists' workload, (3) therapists' confidence to perform their role, and (4) connecting with family carers in a virtual context. Theme 1 included seeing their involvement as an opportunity for personal growth and perceiving benefits to the family carers, which contributed to greater acceptability. Theme 2 reflected that while workload and the user-friendliness of the online platform were highly acceptable among the therapists, there were also time-consuming cases that increased therapists' burden. Theme 3 revealed that practical resources provided during the training, continued supervision, and opportunities to learn from other therapists, increased therapist confidence and facilitated greater acceptability. Finally, Theme 4 highlighted that improving the connection between therapists and carers was critical in a virtual context and strategies to improve the therapist-carer relationship were recommended. The implementation of iACT4CARERS was largely acceptable for the therapists involved in the trial. Ways to strengthen the therapeutic relationship in the virtual context and practical strategies to deal with common problems may enhance therapist experience and delivery in a full-scale effectiveness trial. Key learning aims (1) To understand which factors facilitated therapists' positive perceptions and acceptability of providing internet-delivered guided self-help ACT (iACT4CARERS). (2) To understand what challenges acted as barriers to therapists' positive perceptions and acceptability of providing iACT4CARERS. (3) To learn what aspects of the training and the intervention can be refined to improve the acceptability to therapists in trials involving internet-delivered guided self-help interventions for family carers.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Funding Information: This project is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) Programme (grant reference number PB-PG-0418-20001). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.
Uncontrolled Keywords: therapists,acceptability,online therapy,therapeutic relationship,informal caregivers,psychological interventions,experimental and cognitive psychology,clinical psychology ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3200/3205
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Dementia & Complexity in Later Life
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Norwich Institute for Healthy Aging
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Promotion
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Mental Health
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Lifespan Health
Related URLs:
Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 26 Oct 2021 00:41
Last Modified: 19 Oct 2023 03:07
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/81879
DOI: 10.1017/S1754470X21000337

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item