Program Evaluation of Counseling Impact on Depression Outcomes

1 9-1 Final Project II Program Evaluation Name COU 600 Research Methods and Program Evaluation Dr. David A. Olges, PhD, MBA, LMHC Date

2 Purpose of Program Evaluation Program evaluation in evidence-based practice is critical in order to do it correctly, efficiently, and effectively. This is relevant when we observe the manners in which program evaluation contributes to the counseling profession that include, but are not limited to providing more information pertaining to treatments, programs, methods, and interventions. According to our text, Counseling Assessment and Evaluation, by Watson and Flamez on page 423, this process of program evaluation allows us as counselors to both collect and analyze information about a program in a systematic way to determine the significance, merit, or worth of it. This is done with the primary intention of providing the counselor with the ability to make informed decisions pertaining to the impact, well-being, efficiency, and efficacy of the counseling program that we are choosing to invoke on/with our patients. To conclude, program evaluations provide support for the field of professional counseling by encouraging growth in both the research, planning, and implementation of these programs for the purpose of the betterment of the field. Introduction to the Case Study After reviewing and considering the data set provided to us, it is evident that the goal of this program evaluation is to determine the reliability, efficacy, and validity of the professional counseling administered by Masters-level Licensed Professional Counselors in a Community Mental Health Center to treat adults suffering from Depression. This was done to ensure that the clients were well supported and that they have the tools necessary to cope with their characteristics and symptoms of Depression. Additionally, there was a focus on whether or not a group setting is effective in reducing their symptoms, attitudes, and or characteristics associated with their Depression. To conclude, there was an emphasis placed on being able to identify

3 triggers and attitudes associated that could potentially contribute or encourage their negative symptoms pertaining to their Depression. Summary of the Data When considering the kind of data that is being used and the nature of the information it is evident that this study utilizes a mixed-method technique of both qualitative and quantitative data. There was a total of 3 different data sources consisting of nominal, ratio, and text data that utilized as a means to gather data, including the BDI, age scale, gender scale, and the responses from the clients’ responses to open-ended questions. When discussing the ethical and cultural considerations that are relevant to this case study, age was the only thing that was actually taken into consideration. There was no additional information provided about the clients’ cultural details or backgrounds. The clients were briefed on their confidentiality and informed consent. However, given this information, it is unclear as to whether or not this case study takes ethics and culture into consideration as there is little information that is representative of the culture of the population being evaluated. As far as patterns and/or trends in the data, there are a couple of things that are necessary to take into consideration. The first trend/pattern was that the majority of the clients showed a positive decrease in their pre and post test scores. This means that the majority of the participants showed a positive change in their symptoms of Depression. Overall, between the two groups, males showed more progress in their test results rather than females. However, there were more drastic positive changes in females rather than males. Another pattern/trend in the data is that the majority of these participants that did show a positive improvement were in their 20’s and 40’s. Additionally, there was a trend in the data that showed a positive decrease between pre and post scores by an average of about 6 points in both groups.

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4 To conclude, I was able to detect a couple of incongruencies between the text and numeric data, which are as follows. in group one participant number six scored a 61 in pre and a 19 in her post scores, yet she answered, “I can get out of the house on Wednesday and do something besides watch TV”. I found this to be incongruent, because even though she claims it to be just something to get her out of the house instead of watching TV, there is a drastic positive decline in her test scores. While in group two, participant number five answered, “I can’t think of anything good about this.” And yet, he scored a 60 in the pre and a 32 in the post test scores. This was incongruent for me because even though he said there was nothing positive about it there was a drastic positive decrease in his test scores which would show that there is in fact something positive that he is not mentioning or not willing to share. Summary I wish that there had been more information provided for this case study, so that I was able to give a more thorough report. However, the BDI assessment proved to be the most beneficial for gathering data and concluding the results. With this information taken into consideration, based on the information provided, it is evident that this program overall had a positive outcome on its’ participants. This is relevant when we observe the numeric data and text answers as a whole being a positive progression for their Depression. Given this information, this program utilized in the case study were effective. However, it was a little difficult being able to determine the effectiveness of the study given the lack of information. When it comes to future improvements for the delivery of this program based on the data, there are a couple of things to take into consideration. The first thing is cultural and ethical considerations. There is a lot of room for improvement in this area. It would have been very beneficial to the study if there was more information surrounding demographic, cultural

5 background, etc. This study also could have benefited from the inclusion of a more in-depth description of the participants symptomology, characteristics, behaviors, etc. The second thing is just doing additional research on this program. I am curious to see what the outcome would be in different settings, with different populations and under different circumstances. There is always something to be evaluated, learned, changed etc. It is up to us to explore these further areas for the means of improving things for the future.

6 References Watson, C.J. & Flamez, B. (2015). Counseling Assessment and Evaluation . SAGE Publishing. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781483356273

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Module Nine Final Project 2 Submission Program Evaluation

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