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. 2024 Sep;51(5):702-724.
doi: 10.1007/s10488-024-01363-5. Epub 2024 Mar 11.

Leveraging Single-Case Experimental Designs to Promote Personalized Psychological Treatment: Step-by-Step Implementation Protocol with Stakeholder Involvement of an Outpatient Clinic for Personalized Psychotherapy

Saskia Scholten  1 , Lea Schemer  2 , Philipp Herzog  2   3 , Julia W Haas  2 , Jens Heider  2 , Dorina Winter  2 , Dorota Reis  4 , Julia Anna Glombiewski  2
Affiliations

Leveraging Single-Case Experimental Designs to Promote Personalized Psychological Treatment: Step-by-Step Implementation Protocol with Stakeholder Involvement of an Outpatient Clinic for Personalized Psychotherapy

Saskia Scholten et al. Adm Policy Ment Health. 2024 Sep.

Abstract

Our objective is to implement a single-case experimental design (SCED) infrastructure in combination with experience-sampling methods (ESM) into the standard diagnostic procedure of a German outpatient research and training clinic. Building on the idea of routine outcome monitoring, the SCED infrastructure introduces intensive longitudinal data collection, individual effectiveness measures, and the opportunity for systematic manipulation to push personalization efforts further. It aims to empower psychotherapists and patients to evaluate their own treatment (idiographic perspective) and to enable researchers to analyze open questions of personalized psychotherapy (nomothetic perspective). Organized around the principles of agile research, we plan to develop, implement, and evaluate the SCED infrastructure in six successive studies with continuous stakeholder involvement: In the project development phase, the business model for the SCED infrastructure is developed that describes its vision in consideration of the context (Study 1). Also, the infrastructure's prototype is specified, encompassing the SCED procedure, ESM protocol, and ESM survey (Study 2 and 3). During the optimization phase, feasibility and acceptability are tested and the infrastructure is adapted accordingly (Study 4). The evaluation phase includes a pilot implementation study to assess implementation outcomes (Study 5), followed by actual implementation using a within-institution A-B design (Study 6). The sustainability phase involves continuous monitoring and improvement. We discuss to what extent the generated data could be used to address current questions of personalized psychotherapy research. Anticipated barriers and limitations during the implementation processes are outlined.

Keywords: Ecological momentary assessment; Experience sampling method; Implementation research; Personalized psychotherapy; Single-case experimental design; Stakeholder involvement.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Step-by-step implementation process
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Draft of the Business Model of the Outpatient Clinic for Personalized Psychotherapy
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Design and process of the optimization phase
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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