Evaluating group interventions led by Clinical Associates in Psychology in NHS community mental health teams

Purpose The Clinical Associate in Psychology (CAP) role is a recent addition to the UK psychological workforce. Given the relative novelty of the role, examples of activities CAPs are undertaking in services are helpful to clarify the expectations and responsibilities of the role. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility, attendance rates and outcomes of a group therapy programme led by CAPs in secondary care community mental health teams. Design/methodology/approach A service evaluation using both a case series and uncontrolled, pre–post analysis. Findings It is feasible for CAPs to run psychological therapy groups in secondary care community mental health teams with no additional training or supervision beyond the standard requirements for CAPs. Attendance rates of the groups were comparable to groups run in similar settings. Using a 90% confidence interval, 69% of participants with pre–post data either “recovered” or “improved”. Using randomisation tests, all pre–post mean group difference scores were statistically significant (p < 0.05) with “large” effect sizes (d > 0.8). Originality/value The CAP role is designed to provide psychological interventions for people with long-term and complex presentations. The findings of this evaluation show that CAPs can achieve improvement in such samples by leading the delivery of evidence-based psychological group therapies in secondary care mental health services.