Tracking the Effectiveness of Counseling
Promoting Effectiveness
To make the most of our time together and get the best outcome, I believe it is very important to determine whether or not I am helping you. If I am going to be helpful to you, you should see signs sooner rather than later. The best way I can ensure that my clients are getting better, and my clients are getting what they want from counseling, is to routinely get feedback from them and track their progress.
How Outcome Focused Counseling Works
I monitor progress from session to session using two very short forms that take less than a minute to fill out: the Session Rating Scale (SRS) andOutcome Rating Scale (ORS). These scales will tell us if we are on track, or need to change something, or include other resources or referrals to help you get what you want. I want to know this sooner rather than later, because if I am not the counselor for you, I would like to help you move on and not be an obstacle to you getting what you are looking for. I use these scales as part of Feedback Informed Treatment (FIT), a practice recommended by the International Center for Clinical Excellence and the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMSHA) National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices.
For Therapists: The Importance of Tracking Your Effectiveness
Are you a therapist? Do you currently track your effectiveness with your clients? If not, I highly encourage you to consider starting. In my training and experience in private practice, I have learned that tracking your effectiveness is critical to becoming a better therapist!
Most of us believe we do a good job helping our clients, but as therapists, we tend to overestimate how much we actually help our clients. The majority of therapists believe they are "above average", and this is just impossible.
The only way you know how much you are helping your clients is to track their progress. I I highly suggest using the Outcome Rating Scale (ORS) and Session Rating Scale (SRS), or another similar tracking measure in each session.
Fortunately, the technology today makes it possible for us to easily do it without having to score it ourselves. I use my Ipad, which makes it easy. There are several software programs out there, but the one I use is called "MyOutcomes" because they offer the Ipad capability.
If you're interested in learning more, below are two brief videos describing why outcome-focused and feedback-informed therapy is critical to clinical excellence.