The way the service was managed, in particular:
- Speed of access
- Flexibility of sessions to meet emerging needs, including increasing/reducing the number when required
- Consistency of sessions, being at the same time each week
- Using questionnaires as a measure of progress
The way that practitioners worked with them, especially:
- The listening skills and friendliness of the practitioner
- A directive yet sensitive and collaborative approach to sessions
- Sessions being tailored to suit the service user, so that it felt personal and gave a feeling of being in “safe hands”
- Use of homework for outside the sessions
- A sense of moving towards independence and an emphasis on developing strategies for aiding awareness and self help
- The knowledge of the practitioners in comparison to previous experience