Hope Through Strengths Results

Dr Brian Cole received a grant from MRI that helped him develop a 9 session teletherapy program “Hope Through Strengths” that was provided by the University of Kansas Counseling Psychology clinic. The clinic provides free teletherapy to adults living in Kansas. The primary focus of the clinic is to reduce anxiety, depression, and general life stress by using positive psychology principles to enhance well-being.  

Results, based upon clinic data from the Summer of 2022, suggest that the Hope Through Strengths protocol successfully reduces psychological distress while simultaneously increasing the hope and well-being of clients. This is a vital step in demonstrating the clinical efficacy of strength-based interventions,

With the support of MRI, they were able to demonstrate not only the effectiveness of their Hope Through Strengths program, but also proof of concept for their summer clinic. This is now a permanent part of their MS training program and they have secured annual funding from the University to cover expenses related to assessment, telehealth, and electronic medical records.

The telehealth format was popular with clients and reduced barriers related to cost, lack of insurance, transportation, and childcare. As a result, they have been able to reach clients across the state of Kansas and have provided more than 1400 hours of free therapy since Spring 2020. In the spring of 2023, more than 150 clients signed up for the summer clinic in less than 72 hours. More than 60 student clinicians have participated in Hope Through Strengths, with 18 more scheduled to start this summer. These students are now taking the lessons learned and skills gained in the clinic out into their communities as they become full-time clinicians.