BACKGROUND: A pilot study (Baradell, 1995) employing a retrospective design demonstrated that out-patients (N = 100) of psychiatric clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) reported significant improvement in clinical symptoms and quality of life and reported a high level of satisfaction with care.
OBJECTIVES: To follow up on these initial results, a prospective study was designed to examine the following questions: (a) Were there improvements in clinical symptoms and quality of life between initiation and termination of psychotherapy? (b) Were improvements in clinical symptoms and quality of life maintained 6 months after termination? (c) What level of patient satisfaction was reported 6 months after termination of psychotherapy?
DESIGN: The sample included patients (N = 257) from the private practices of CNSs in North Carolina. Data were collected at initiation, at termination, and 6 months after termination. Instruments included the Profile of Mood States-Short Form (McNair, Lorr, & Droppleman, 1992), Quality of Life, and the Patient Satisfaction Survey.
RESULTS: Patients reported significant improvement in clinical symptoms and quality of life at termination. Improvements were maintained 6 months after termination for clinical symptoms and quality of life, with the exception of the job domain. Patients reported a very high level of satisfaction with the care provided by CNSs.
CONCLUSIONS: Mental health care provided by psychiatric CNSs can improve the quality of care and the level of patient satisfaction for consumers of mental health services. Data support the inclusion of psychiatric CNSs as providers in the rapidly changing health care system. The data from the pilot study and the current study lend further support to psychotherapy as an autonomous role for psychiatric CNSs.
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