Resistance To Brand Switching: The Elderly Consumer

In this study, the authors examine one more aspect of the elderly consumer’s brand loyalty: resistance to brand switching. This study claims that elderly consumers are not only more likely to repurchase but also actively resist switching brands once they have established a favorite brand. This study looks at the unique cognitive psychology of elderly consumers likely to cause this behavior. A better understanding of such behavior can guide efforts of firms either trying to retain their existing consumers or attempting to convert customers of rival brands to their own brands

The Gap Between Science and Practice: How Therapists Make Their Clinical Decisions

Recent surveys have found that many patients are not receiving empirically supported treatments and that therapists may not update their knowledge of research. Studies have found that therapists prefer to use their clinical experience rather than research findings to improve their practice, although cognitive behavioral (CB) practitioners have been found to use research more frequently than therapists of other theoretical orientations. The organization in which therapists work has been shown to impact attitudes toward working practices, but studies have not examined whether workplace requirements to use research affect therapists’ practice. Studies to date have mainly been conducted in North America. These findings may not be generalizable to the United Kingdom where there is a National Health Service (NHS), which requires the use of empirically supported treatments. The first part of this study aimed to investigate which factors were influential in therapists’ choice of theoretical orientation and to see whether CB practitioners differed from other therapists in the factors that influenced their choice of theoretical orientation. The second part tested whether therapists’ theoretical orientation or their workplace influenced the frequency with which they used research in their clinical decision-making. The final part investigated whether being a CB practitioner or working in the NHS was associated with having a favorable attitude toward research. An online survey was sent to 4,144 psychological therapists in England; 736 therapists responded (18.5%). Therapists reported that research had little influence over their choice of theoretical orientation and clinical decision-making compared to other factors, specifically clinical experience and supervision. CB practitioners and NHS therapists, regardless of their orientation, were significantly more likely to use research than other therapists and were more likely to have a positive attitude toward research

Predictors of IAPT psychological well-being practitioners’ intention to use CBT self-help materials routinely in their clinical practice

Despite efficacy and effectiveness evidence, and recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), use of CBT self-help materials remains inconsistent in UK mental health services. Since 2006, the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme has provided standardized training and mandates routine use of CBT self-help materials by their trainee psychological well-being practitioners (PWPs). This study tested whether the main constructs of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB; attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control), past use, prior training and demographic characteristics, would predict PWPs’ intention to use self-help materials routinely in their clinical practice. Stage 1 utilized a standardized procedure to create measures for the constructs of TPB, before the design and testing of a web-based, cross-sectional questionnaire. In stage 2, the questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of trainee PWPs (n = 94). Data was analysed using multiple linear regression, mediation analyses, and content analysis. TPB constructs predicted intention to use self-help materials, with only direct attitude contributing significantly to 70% of the variance in intention. Past use of materials predicted intention, via direct and indirect mediation. Qualitative data from 43 trainees highlighted clients’ experience of self-help materials as positive, albeit with some practical constraints. The results suggest that the main constructs of TPB have some utility in predicting trainee PWPs’ intention to use self-help materials routinely. Future prospective, longitudinal research could investigate actual use of self-help materials to elucidate cognitive factors involved in trainees’ clinical decision-making post-qualification

The Role of Practice Research Networks (PRN) in the Development and Implementation of Evidence: The Northern Improving Access to Psychological Therapies PRN Case Study

Practice research networks (PRNs) can support the implementation of evidence based practice in routine services and generate practice based evidence. This paper describes the structure, processes and learning from a new PRN in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme in England, in relation to an implementation framework and using one study as a case example. Challenges related to: ethics and governance processes; communications with multiple stakeholders; competing time pressures and linking outcome data. Enablers included: early tangible outputs and impact; a collaborative approach; engaging with local research leads; clarity of processes; effective dissemination; and committed leadership

The Role of Practitioner Resilience and Mindfulness in Effective Practice: A Practice-Based Feasibility Study.

A growing body of literature attests to the existence of therapist effects with little explanation of this phenomenon. This study therefore investigated the role of resilience and mindfulness as factors related to practitioner wellbeing and associated effective practice. Data comprised practitioners (n = 37) and their patient outcome data (n = 4980) conducted within a stepped care model of service delivery. Analyses employed benchmarking and multilevel modeling to identify more and less effective practitioners via yoking of therapist factors and nested patient outcomes. A therapist effect of 6.7 % was identified based on patient depression (PHQ-9) outcome scores. More effective practitioners compared to less effective practitioners displayed significantly higher levels of mindfulness as well as resilience and mindfulness combined. Implications for policy, research and practice are discussed