Contrast between Patients' Definitions of Their Problems and Expectancies for Treatment as a Predictor of Failure to Engage in Treatment

The discrepancy between the numbers of patients seeking help in our outpatient psychiatry department and those subsequently receiving treatment may be a function of the consistency of patients' definitions of their problems and their expectations regarding treatment. Assuming a consumer's approach to patienthood, we hypothesized that the greater the congruence between patients definitions of their problems and expectancy for treatment, the more likely that the patient and evaluating therapist would agree to initiate therapy. For 34 clients responses to a 20-item survey confirmed the hypothesis and suggested the need for explicit clarification with incoming patients of the definition of problems and expectancy for treatment.