Effective and efficient: Using patient-led appointment scheduling in routine mental health practice in remote Australia

Patient-led appointment scheduling is a form of responsive regulation in which patients schedule their own psychotherapy appointments within the constraints of available resources. Of 92 patients referred to a clinical psychology clinic in the public mental health service of a remote country town in Australia, 51 attended more than 1 appointment (M = 3.6; median = 3; range = 2-11). The average number of missed and cancelled appointments was between 0 and 1.1. As compared with reported results of other practice-based studies, this approach to treatment scheduling was equivalently effective (in terms of effect size) and substantially more efficient (in terms of effect size achieved per session attended). Patient-led regulation of treatment parameters holds promise in a context of heavy demands and limited resources in mental health services.