David Tate

Background Establishing the value of differing treatments for depression and anxiety is crucial in a climate of delimited spending and increased demand. Drawing from a well‐founded, diverse evidence base is salient to constructive evaluation and any subsequent recommendations being fit for purpose. Design This study employed a practice‐based quantitative design to explore therapeutic gains in adult counselling clients attending person‐centred therapy ( n = 301), delivered in a charitable, community‐based UK service. Measures Outcome measures PHQ‐9 and GAD‐7 were used from three time points: initial assessment (IA), first ongoing session and last or 6th ongoing appointment (whichever occurred first; T1, T2 and T3). Analysis Repeated measures ANOVA, CSI, RI and RCSI calculations were used to consider significant change in clients. Findings Reductions in PHQ‐9 and GAD‐7 outcome measures were observed over time (between T2 & T3 and T1 & T3) and were all statistically significant ( p = <0.001). By T3: CSI was achieved by 48.1% of clients on PHQ‐9 and 50.8% of clients on GAD‐7, RI was achieved by 47.8% of clients on PHQ‐9 and 60.5% of clients on GAD‐7, and RCSI was achieved by 32.6% of clients on PHQ‐9 and 41.2% of clients on GAD‐7. Conclusions The treatment observed resulted in effective outcomes equivalent to other therapies reviewed in the literature for clients' symptoms of anxiety and depression as measured by GAD‐7 and PHQ‐9.