The role of intrinsic factors in the implementation of psychosocial interventions into routine clinical practice

Despite the efficacy, political will and numbers of mental health practitioners trained in psychosocial interventions, they remain scarcely available in routine clinical practice. External factors such as the inability of mental health organisations to develop strategies to support the use of psychosocial interventions have been implicated. This study compares data from two groups, one that had completed psychosocial intervention training (n=104) and one that had not received psychosocial intervention training (n=102). Both groups completed measures of self-efficacy, locus of control and an application of psychosocial interventions to practice. Results showed that psychosocial intervention training significantly increased the level of self-efficacy for using psychosocial interventions in practice. The group that had received psychosocial interventions training had lower internal locus of control orientation. Self-efficacy was significantly related to using psychosocial interventions in practice. There is a discussion of the implications of these findings.