The Relationship between Change and Satisfaction: Parents' Experiences in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service

In the consumer satisfaction literature, there is little exploration of the relationship between change and satisfaction and the two are often conflated. This qualitative study interviewed parents a year after using child and adolescent mental health services. Eliciting an account of their experiences enabled the development of ‘grounded theories’ about what constitutes satisfaction for parents. The outcomes suggest that in addition to the expectable stories of ‘high change and satisfaction’ or ‘no change and low satisfaction’, considerable numbers of people are satisfied with a service despite experiencing little or no change, while others who experience positive change are not satisfied. Understanding these alternative stories helps address critical issues that affect the way therapists respond to people's needs and provide services — these matters are often within the capacity of therapists and services to address, even when working with limited resources.