What the study found
The study found that people who attended the emotional resources group, a brief emotion regulation group intervention, showed improvements in emotion regulation, self-efficacy, well-being, and functioning. The abstract reports that these improvements were statistically significant in both those who completed the programme and a conservative intent-to-treat sample.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that this extended real-world evaluation adds to the evidence for the intervention's effectiveness in a secondary care adult mental health setting in NHS Scotland. They also state that it establishes the credibility and acceptability of the intervention in secondary care outpatient adult mental health service settings.
What the researchers tested
The researchers carried out a service evaluation of the emotional resources group, which is a brief emotion regulation group intervention routinely delivered in secondary care adult mental health services. They used a within-subjects repeated measures design to assess change in emotion regulation, self-efficacy, well-being, and functioning among people who attended the programme.
What worked and what didn't
Among programme completers, the analysis found highly statistically significant improvements on all measured outcomes. Large effect sizes were reported for all measures except functioning, which was moderate to large; in the intent-to-treat sample, the findings were similar, with highly significant improvements on all measures and moderate to large effect sizes, except functioning, which was moderate. Good rates of reliable and clinically significant change were also reported for the primary emotion regulation measure in both samples.
What to keep in mind
This is a service evaluation in a real-world clinical setting, not a randomized trial. The abstract does not describe limitations beyond the study design and does not provide details such as sample size, follow-up duration, or participant characteristics.
Key points
- The emotional resources group was associated with improved emotion regulation, self-efficacy, well-being, and functioning.
- Results were reported for both programme completers and a conservative intent-to-treat sample.
- Effect sizes were large for most measures, while functioning was moderate to large or moderate.
- Reliable and clinically significant change was reported for the main emotion regulation measure.
- The authors say the evaluation supports the intervention's credibility and acceptability in secondary care outpatient adult mental health services.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Emotion regulation group improved outcomes in NHS adults
- Authors:
- Emily Ford, Thomas Bacon, Robyn Gemmell, Sara Rae, B. Wiffen, Paul Watson
- Institutions:
- NHS Fife, NHS Fife, NHS Fife, NHS Fife, NHS Fife, NHS Lothian
- Publication date:
- 2026-02-24
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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