Client perspectives on perceived barriers to homework adherence in psychotherapy: An exploratory study from India

Apoorva Malik; Paulomi M Sudhir; Prathyusha P V; Manjula Munivenkatappa; Ajay Kumar; Mahendra P Sharma

doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2022.103206

Client perspectives on perceived barriers to homework adherence in psychotherapy: An exploratory study from India

Asian J Psychiatr. 2022 Sep:75:103206. doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2022.103206. Epub 2022 Jul 15.

Authors

Apoorva Malik¹, Paulomi M Sudhir², Prathyusha P V³, Manjula Munivenkatappa¹, Ajay Kumar¹, Mahendra P Sharma¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Psychology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore 560029 Karnataka, India.
² Department of Clinical Psychology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore 560029 Karnataka, India. Electronic address: paulomi@nimhans.ac.in.
³ Department of Biostatistics, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore 560029 Karnataka, India.

PMID: 35905515
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2022.103206

Abstract

We explored perceived barriers to homework adherence in clients receiving individual psychotherapy. Ninety-four adults with at least four individual psychotherapy sessions were recruited from outpatient services of a tertiary hospital in India and assessed on the Barriers to CBT Homework Completion Scale, Homework Compliance Scale, and Clinical Global Impressions scale. More than one-fourth completed some portion of the homework. Participants reported a high level of overall perceived barriers to homework, with more task-and-patient related factors. Higher perceived barriers were associated with lower adherence. Findings highlight the importance of understanding perceived barriers to homework adherence and addressing them systematically.

Keywords: Adherence; Client perspectives; Homework; Perceived Barriers; Psychotherapy.

MeSH terms

Adult
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy*
Humans
India
Patient Compliance
Psychotherapy
Treatment Outcome