The instrument was implemented and evaluated for a period of 6 months (January 2021 to June 2021) at Kooth.com , a web-based therapy service based in the UK, via synchronous text messaging. The service is anonymous at the point of entry and provides person-centered text-based SST or drop-in, one-at-the-time therapy that is free and accessible to CYP in most of the UK with access to an internet connection, and who wish to register and use the service.
During the evaluation period, the SWAN-OM was implemented for SSTs. A total of 120 practitioners from the web-based therapy service were recruited and trained to administer the SWAN-OM atKooth.com . Each practitioner attended a training session of 60 min and was provided with a manual containing guidance on how to use the instrument in the platform, internal clinical governance procedures, SST relevant literature, and frequently asked questions about the instrument and the research study. Ad hoc support was provided through instant messaging software by the research group to each practitioner. All practitioners involved in the study were part of the service workforce. Therefore, practitioners were in training or had obtained their counseling or clinical qualifications as mental health practitioners. The service holds a pluralistic view on their training and therapeutic background but all within encompassing a person-centered framework to deliver care.
The SST intervention was delivered over a 40–60 min text-based chat in the online synchronous messaging system of the web-based service. The broad SST aims were to engage, conduct a brief assessment, and meet the needs of young people where possible. Brief risk assessments and safeguarding protocols were prioritized above those aims as part of service provision; these include a routine risk inquiry in every chat with questions to users explicitly asking about harm to themselves or others, and, if there is a disclosed risk, the single-session appeared will follow safety procedures as opposed to the SWAN-OM selected “Wants” and “Needs” and its processes. The approach of SST delivery by practitioners within the service was pluralistic (64 (link)) with a broad range of therapeutic orientations. The SST interventions delivered during the evaluation considered the brief-intervention mindset and its blend with traditional approaches to counseling (65 (link)), in addition to the already established evidence based on SST (13 (link), 18 (link), 66 (link)).
The SWAN-OM was administered when practitioners clicked a button in the platform to launch the questionnaires in the front-end view of the user. The battery of instruments was administered at the same points in time, before the chat (Time 1: pre-SST; PANAS and SWAN-OM) and after the chat (Time 2: post-SST; PANAS, YCIS, ESQ, and SWAN-OM).
Young people could skip the measures if they wished to at the time of accessing the service. The practitioner was able to access the item selection of the SWAN-OM at Time 1 and then start the SST when ready. Following the end of their SST chat with a practitioner, young people were asked to complete the post-session measures. Individuals who skipped the administration of the questionnaires at Time 1 were not presented with the other measures at Time 2.
During the evaluation period, the SWAN-OM was implemented for SSTs. A total of 120 practitioners from the web-based therapy service were recruited and trained to administer the SWAN-OM at
The SST intervention was delivered over a 40–60 min text-based chat in the online synchronous messaging system of the web-based service. The broad SST aims were to engage, conduct a brief assessment, and meet the needs of young people where possible. Brief risk assessments and safeguarding protocols were prioritized above those aims as part of service provision; these include a routine risk inquiry in every chat with questions to users explicitly asking about harm to themselves or others, and, if there is a disclosed risk, the single-session appeared will follow safety procedures as opposed to the SWAN-OM selected “Wants” and “Needs” and its processes. The approach of SST delivery by practitioners within the service was pluralistic (64 (link)) with a broad range of therapeutic orientations. The SST interventions delivered during the evaluation considered the brief-intervention mindset and its blend with traditional approaches to counseling (65 (link)), in addition to the already established evidence based on SST (13 (link), 18 (link), 66 (link)).
The SWAN-OM was administered when practitioners clicked a button in the platform to launch the questionnaires in the front-end view of the user. The battery of instruments was administered at the same points in time, before the chat (Time 1: pre-SST; PANAS and SWAN-OM) and after the chat (Time 2: post-SST; PANAS, YCIS, ESQ, and SWAN-OM).
Young people could skip the measures if they wished to at the time of accessing the service. The practitioner was able to access the item selection of the SWAN-OM at Time 1 and then start the SST when ready. Following the end of their SST chat with a practitioner, young people were asked to complete the post-session measures. Individuals who skipped the administration of the questionnaires at Time 1 were not presented with the other measures at Time 2.
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