The AMBIT Relationship to Help Questionnaire
This is a measure that is still under development. Feedback from field applications is invited.
This measure is designed less as a formal outcomes measure, and more as a clinical aid - to:
- help build alliance
- encourage collaborative care planning
- help "unstick" a therapeutic relationship when it has got stuck.
An overarching treatment goal for most AMBIT-influenced teams, however, is to improve the Relationship to help and some measure of whether there has been movement in this measure in keeping with the goals identified at its first use might contribute to the measurement of this complex change.
The Questionnaire builds on work to develop a "clients'-eye view" of the AMBIT Wheel (the Client's AMBIT Wheel).
The Questionnaire:
| HOW OFTEN IS THIS STATEMENT TRUE? | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALWAYS | MOSTLY | REGULARLY | OCCASIONALLY | NEVER | ||
| 1. | I’m making/rebuilding relationships that really matter to me | |||||
| 2. | I’m looking after my basic safety (avoiding trouble, illness, or danger) | |||||
| 3. | The people offering help seem to understand me, so I can trust them | |||||
| 4. | I can understand the people offering me help and how they try to do this | |||||
| 5. | All the things I want to improve in my life are covered in a plan | |||||
| 6. | All the different kinds of help I’m getting are working well together | |||||
| 7. | I’m learning from experiences in my own life, so that I can make changes | |||||
| 8. | I’m learning from other people, so that I can make changes | |||||
After completing the questionnaire the client AND worker should have a conversation:
- For things to start looking better, how would your existing scores need to change? (Use arrows to show where the X should move)
- What might you do help them change in the right direction? (Make notes, or ask your worker to)
- What might workers do? (Make a plan together)
Discussion
There is a worked example at the bottom of this page.
There is no "right" or "wrong" answer for these questions, as different situations will call for different responses, but in general answers that are only "occasionally" or "never" should raise a question as to whether in an ideal world, that statement would be true somewhat more often than that. Some questions are designed to be ambiguous - for instance Q's 1 and 2 - is it desirable to be constantly making and repairing relationships?... to be constantly looking after my basic safety? If these are marked as "Always" does this suggest anxiety or distress that, in an improved situation, would allow these activities to take place, perhaps, "regularly" or just "occasionally"?
The key point of discussion is to open up thinking about these areas of the helping process (that AMBIT seeks to strengthen), identifying areas in whcih there is a clear interest in a direction of travel (mark arrows from each X on the questionnaire to the position that would be more desirable - an example of Goals-based outcome measures) , and collaboratively developing plans to make such changes.
A subsequent (post-treatment) ARHQ might then indicate if there has been movement towards such goals.
