| European Psychotherapy Consortium (EPoC) |
The Rationale Behind EPoCThe European Psychotherapy Consortium (EPoC) was initiated at the EU-SPR Conference in Rome, September 2022. The project aims to create transnational naturalistic psychotherapy samples, fostering collaboration across Europe, enhancing diversity in research, and developing broader, more representative samples. A self-organized group of European colleagues has been working together to define the project’s strategy. An initial survey mapped potential partners and their service structures, with participants from 10 countries, representing approximately 5,000 patients annually. The survey revealed a vast diversity of outcome measures used, highlighting the need for standardized data-sharing practices to advance psychotherapy research. EPO-1
Discover the Emotional and Psychological Outcome (EPO-1), a standardized measure designed to assess outcomes across different therapeutic approaches. EPO-1 is freely available to SPR members in multiple languages.
How to Participate
Participation is designed to be minimally time-consuming and mutually beneficial, with the potential for new projects and publications. To join, email: EPoC Article & Coordination
The Steering Committee includes Miguel Gonçalves, Wolfgang Lutz, Michael Barkham, Orya Tishby, Suoma Saarni, João Tiago Oliveira, and Brian Schwartz. We describe the EPoC initiative in an article in Clinical Psychology in Europe: Forms of Collaboration1. Adding the EPO-1 Measure: EPoC encourages the inclusion of the Emotional and Psychological Outcome (EPO-1), a single-item measure adapted from the work of Ken Howard and David Orlinsky. Available in multiple languages, the EPO-1 provides a common metric, aiding in comparative research and enhancing data consistency. 2. Crosswalks and Data Analysis: Share raw, anonymized data to develop common metrics across different instruments. This opens avenues for joint publications and further research on effectiveness, therapist variability, and more. 3. Support for New Data Collection: For those beginning routine data collection, EPoC offers recommendations on measures, techniques, and implementation to align with consortium goals. |