Interest in understanding outcomes in Talking Therapies for culturally and ethnically diverse clients has been steadily growing. This service improvement project utilised a mixed-method design combining auditing recovery data and exploring staff views and needs to create recommendations for staff training on culturally responsive therapy in a Talking Therapies service. Audit findings showed that diverse clients had significantly lower recovery rates than White British clients, with ethnicity, treatment type, number of sessions, and baseline severity predicting outcomes. A staff survey on delivering culturally responsive therapy indicated high motivation but varied perceived knowledge, skill and opportunity. Identified needs included improving cultural knowledge, the ability to adapt therapy, and creating reflective spaces. Thus, recommendations included training on key concepts and ideas relating to working within diverse cultures, adapting protocols, and improving culture-focused supervision. A lay summary is presented in Appendix A of the Supplementary material.
Key learning aims(1) To understand recovery rates in culturally and ethnically diverse clients in a Talking Therapies service, and the factors influencing these outcomes.
(2) To understand how staff perceive capability, opportunities, and motivation to deliver culturally responsive therapy.
(3) To identify practical recommendations for staff training to improve the delivery of culturally responsive therapy which may help improve the recovery rates for culturally and ethnically diverse clients.
