ArticlePsychiatric services (Washington, D.C.)2012
Is dropout after a first psychotherapy visit always a bad outcome?
Article in Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.), 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Data Missing Not at Random in Mobile Health Research: Assessment of the Problem and a Case for Sensitivity Analyses.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Pooled it
- Development and evaluation of a digital single-session reappraisal intervention to shift negative self-focused social media interpretations.Behaviour research and therapy · 2026Trial
- "It Felt Good to Be Able to Say That Out Loud"-Therapeutic Alliance and Processes in AVATAR Therapy for People Who Hear Distressing Voices: Peer-Led Qualitative Study.JMIR mental health · 2026Trial
- Predictors of dropout in cognitive behavior and interpersonal online brief psychotherapies for essential professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- A Three-Armed Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Effectiveness, Acceptance, and Negative Effects ofInternational journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Trial
- Side effects of the metacognitive training for depression compared to a cognitive remediation training in patients with depression.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Identifying Patients at Risk for Psychotherapy Dropout in Community Settings.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- "Now they just say it will get better on its own.": a qualitative exploration of discontinuation of facility-based tele-mental health services in Bangladesh.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Depression and Anxiety Outcomes in a Technology-Enabled Psychotherapy Practice: Retrospective Cohort Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Psychotherapy Engagement Before and After a Rapid Transition to Telehealth During COVID-19 for Older Adults With Dementia.Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society · 2025Article
- The rapid shift to virtual mental health care: Examining psychotherapy disruption by rurality status.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2024Article
- Psychotherapy Disruption Before and After the Transition to Virtual Mental Health Care Induced by the COVID-19 Pandemic.Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) · 2024Article
- Overall and Differential Attrition in Mindfulness-Based Interventions: A Meta-Analysis.Mindfulness · 2022Article
- Single session therapy in pediatric healthcare: the value of adopting a strengths-based approach for families living with neurological disorders.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2022Article
- Predictors of Disengagement and Symptom Improvement Among Adults With Depression Enrolled in Talkspace, a Technology-Mediated Psychotherapy Platform: Naturalistic Observational Study.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- The beginning of the end: A comparison of treatment completers and early dropouts in trainee-provided time-limited Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.Counselling psychology quarterly · 2022Article
- Predicting outcomes of psychotherapy for depression with electronic health record data.Journal of affective disorders reports · 2021Article
- Young People Who Meaningfully Improve Are More Likely to Mutually Agree to End Treatment.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
- Article
- Young adults' reasons for dropout from residential substance use disorder treatment.Qualitative social work : QSW : research and practice · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThe authors compared outcomes reported by patients who did or did not return for treatment after an initial psychotherapy visit.
methodsMembers of a group health plan were surveyed about initial psychotherapy visits occurring between March and September 2010. The survey assessed satisfaction with care and therapeutic alliance during the visit and later clinical improvement.
resultsOf the 2,666 members who returned surveys, 906 (34%) did not return for a second visit within 45 days. The distribution of satisfaction, therapeutic alliance, and self-rated improvement scores between patients who did and did not return differed significantly (p<.001). Patients who did not return were more likely to report the most favorable and the least favorable outcomes.
conclusionsFailure to return after an initial psychotherapy visit can represent successful and satisfying treatment. Systematic outreach and outcome assessment are necessary to identify the patients who drop out of therapy after unsuccessful and unsatisfying treatment.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.