Research Team: Shane Weir, Michelle Wills, Jeff Young, and Dr. Amaryll Perlesz
Summary: In 2004, the Department of Human Services sponsored training in Single Session Work for community health counsellors across Victoria. Traditionally, training to community health clinicians has been approved as a one-off enterprise without resources for further sector consultation. DHS approved funding for this research project in response to the positive reception from the sector to the SSW training and the unique support provided fro SSW implementation. Funding was provided to understand and document SSW implementation in the community health sector. The research looked at
- Quantifying the level of implementation;
- Documenting successful implementation practices;
- Attempting to understand the factors that promoted or inhibited implementation; and
- Investigating the impact of implementation.
Further information about this project, including research findings, can be found on the Community Services section of this website, or by clicking here.
Findings:
THE IMPACT OF SSW ON SERVICE DELIVERY
- SSW is a note worthy form of service delivery because the most common number of sessions that clients attend in community health counselling is one.
- Organisations that implemented SSW reported a reduction in counselling waiting times for clients from 1-47 weeks.
- 48 (84%) out of a total of 57 organisations, that responded to the Telephone Survey have implemented SSW in some form with 28 organisations (49%) implementing SSW as part of a formal service response.
- Of practitioners who responded to the On-line Web Survey, 101 out of 116 respondents (approx. 33% of the workforce) stated that they used some of the principles and practices of SSW in their work after receiving SSW training.
- Most organisations that successfully implemented SSW also experienced a boost in staff morale by coming together as a team to apply and review SSW.
FACTORS IMPACTING ON ADOPTION OF SSW
- When training is combined with informative support materials and organisational consultations, it is more likely for SSW to be implemented by individual workers or as a formal organisational response to service delivery.
- Workers who participated in SSW training were more likely to implement SSW practices and principles than those workers who had not attended training.
- The organisations that adopted SSW viewed the approach as augmenting existing quality assurance measures.
- By funding the SSW training, DHS provided a recommended solution to some of the issues facing community health counselling services, such as demand management, that most managers were compelled to seriously consider.
- The implementation of SSW was aided by the influence of: (i) respected internal practitioners; (ii) other organisations that had implemented SSW; and (iii) consultations with recognised SSW experts.
- The SSW training was flexible and recursive in order to engage with various stakeholder groups and meet the changing needs of the sector over time.
PRACTITIONER FACTORS INFLUENCING SSW IMPLEMENTATION
- A large proportion (up to 80%) of practitioners agreed that SSW was compatible with their core counselling beliefs and practices especially regarding the compatibility of SSW with the social model of health, and a client centred, and strengths based approach.
- The majority of practitioners who had implemented SSW experienced their supervisors as supportive and a reasonable climate of cooperation in the ir workplace.
- Practitioners who experienced the organisational implementation of SSW, as compared to practitioners who implemented SSW at their individual discretion, were more likely to agree that (i) SSW was effective in reducing waiting lists and promptly meeting clients and (ii) they were also significantly more likely to enjoy structures to assist with the administration, evaluation and support of SSW.
- Workers are more likely to successfully adopt SSW when their practice values were aligned closely with SSW.
ORGANISATIONAL FACTORS INFLUENCING SSW IMPLEMENTATION
- Those services that implemented SSSW invested resources into adapting the accompanying SSW paperwork to suit the agency context.
- The use of a cyclic review or an evaluation process by implementing organisations assisted the adaptation of SSW to the specific service delivery context.
- Organisations that implemented SSW were more likely to possess leaders who inspired staff, were passionate about the provision of client services, and gave clear direction.
- Providing specialist supervision assisted clinicians to maintain confidence in applying SSSW particularly where their on-line manager did not have qualifications or expertise in counselling.
Funding: Primary Health Branch, Rural and Regional Health and Aged Care Services Division, Department of Human Services.
