3.4.2. Usefulness of the Intervention

The parents rated the intervention as highly useful (median 4, range 3 to 4). The children's ratings showed large variations also for usefulness, ranging from 1 to 4 with a median of 3. The variability between the children was similar to the responses on the questions related to working alliance (see Table 4), with yet another teenager rating the usefulness as low. The parents rated the CICI handbook as very useful (median score 4). Some parents reported that they read the entire booklet several times during the intervention, whereas others mainly used the booklet during psychoeducation in sessions. The parent group seminar was rated as overall very useful (median score 5).

The therapists rated their experience of the usefulness of the intervention for the families as high (median 5, range 2–5). Only 1/77 responses was a 2, which was due to the fact that the therapist considered that a child with very severe cognitive deficit had not gained an increased understanding of his/her symptoms due to the intervention. The remaining items were scored within a range of 3–5.

Parents of two of the children who gave low ratings of working alliance and usefulness specifically commented that the child was tired and in a bad mood when filling out the Acceptability Scale, which in their opinion had influenced response validity. Overall, working alliance and usefulness were judged as highly feasible according to the predefined criteria for both parents and children, although with notable variation in responses among and regarding the children.
