Treatment dropout: client's experiences of a transdiagnostic online intervention

Abstract

An important concern in Internet-based treatments tor emotional disorders is the high dropout rates among these protocols. Although dropout rates are usually reported in research studies, there are very tew studies expioring qualitatively the experiences ot patients who drop out ot Internet-based treatments (IBT). Examining the experiences ot these clients may help to tind solutions in order to tackle this problem. A Consensual Qualitative Research was applied with the aim ot establishing domains, categories and core ideas associated to the treatment dropout ot 10 intentionally selected patients who dropped-out ot a transdiagnostic IBT. 20 categories were identitied within the 5 domai ns. Both expectations as well as the absence ot a therapeutic relationship are identitied as the two key elements to better understand the phenomenon ot nonadherence. Results are discussed in terms ot its utility tor c1inical and research purposes.