Background

In New Zealand and elsewhere, the workloads and counselling impact of counsellors in private practice have been seldom researched despite them comprising a substantial proportion of practitioners.

Aim

This study sought to establish a profile of one self-employed counsellor's caseload over several years, assess the impact of counselling using the Outcome Rating Scale (ORS) and provide an example of collaborative, practice-based research (PBR).

Method

A retrospective client review of client records included demographic information and ORS scores. Analyses identified the nature of any clinical change and its association with client demographics.

Results

The average age of 720 clients was 41.5 years; 44% were male; and 71% were Pākehā versus 23% Māori. The average number of sessions was 2.4. For the 274 clients with first- and last-session ORS scores, repeated ANOVAs revealed significant changes in ORS scores over time, irrespective of client characteristics and no significant interactions between any of the variables and gains over time. The effect size (0.9) was ‘large’, and Reliable Change Index indicators were comparable to overseas studies using adult subjects in public health settings.

Discussion

The counsellor's caseload profile was similar to an earlier one and the gain in clients’ ORS scores was comparable to those in several other countries and not associated with clients’ demographic data. There are several reasons for counsellors to collaborate with others in analyses of their practice. This research provides a useful example of such collaboration.