As we have discussed, MBC provides information. In the last blog, I discussed how sharing the MBC information with the patient is beneficial to therapy. That discussion, although absolutely necessary in most cases, is a first step to improving therapy. The second step involves using the MBC information to make clinical decisions and to guide therapy. In this way, the information is integrated with your knowledge about the client to make effective clinical decisions about the course of treatment, the treatment delivered, how you relate to the patient, and the myriad other elements that compose the complexity of psychotherapy.
As we have discussed previously, measurement-based care (MBC) involves assessing patient progress and the therapeutic process throughout the course of treatment to improve the quality of the service being delivered. Of course, the clinician will naturally gather many of their own insights from interacting with the patient. MBC supplements this information by providing the patient’s perspective on their symptoms, well-being, and their relationship with the clinician.
This interview was conducted at the Request of Jordan Harris, Ph.D, LMFT, LPC who offers his own counseling services as well as resources for other counselors at www.jordanthecounselor.com.
Once a clinician or a system of care has made the commitment to implement MBC, we soon find that the devil is in the details. Like most initiatives, the pragmatics involved in MBC, particularly administering the assessment to patients and collecting responses, is critical to its success. The challenge is to collect useful and actionable information without burdening patients, clinicians or administrators. In this blog, I will discuss the major challenges to administering assessment to patients and touch upon the CarePaths solution. As with any systemic initiative, there are tradeoffs to consider, depending on the context and priorities.
Now that we have agreed (hopefully) that Measurement-Based Care (MBC) is a method that improves psychotherapy outcomes, we are faced with the logical next question: What should be measured?
Measurement-based care (MBC) involves assessing patient progress and therapy processes through the course of therapy to improve the quality of the service being delivered. A number of different labels have been used for this practice, including routine-outcome monitoring (ROM), practice-based evidence, feedback informed treatment (FIT), among others. Whatever name is used, the research is clear: Providing information about patient progress to the therapist improves outcomes, especially for cases that are not on track to be successful. MBC is now considered an evidence-based practice and the American Psychological Association is developing practice guidelines for its implementation.