A trial of client-centred counselling over the telephone for persons with ME

Abstract

The study described in this paper was designed to evaluate the potential of client-centred telephone counselling for people with Myalgic Encephalopathy (ME). Fourteen participants were recruited via the main ME associations, and offered up to eight sessions of telephone counselling. The CORE measure was completed before and after, and change compared to scores collected during a waiting list phase. A paired t-test showed that overall scores improved significantly, and the counselling was rated very highly in terms of usefulness. Clients were followed up several weeks after the end of the counselling and asked to rate, using a 10-point Likert scale, the intervention in terms of the core client-centred principles. They were asked about their reactions to the counselling, how useful it was, and whether they had any comments on the work being telephone-based. These interviews were transcribed and subject to thematic analysis. Session transcripts were also reviewed to identify the core presenting issues. Whilst telephone counselling might seem somewhat limited compared to face-to-face methods, participant feedback suggested that it was acceptable. The conclusion is that client-centred methods delivered over the telephone can be an effective form of intervention for clients with ME.

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