• Feb 16, 2023

    Using Measurement-based Care (MBC) to Make Clinical Decisions

    Bruce Wampold, PhD

    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.

    Here, it is absolutely vital that the therapist emphasize that progress is due to her hard work (i.e. internal attribution) and not due to external factors, such as the skill or charisma of the therapist or psychotropic medications.
  • Dec 8, 2022

    Talking to Patients as Part of Measurement-Based Care

    Bruce Wampold, PhD

    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.

    Offering the patient the opportunity to examine and discuss their confidence in the therapist and the treatment strengthens their sense of agency. If the patient believes, "My views of therapy matter to the therapist and to the therapeutic process,” they will feel more empowered to take an active role in achieving their desired outcomes.
  • Nov 15, 2022

    Dr. Bruce Wampold on How to Make Therapy Better

    Bruce Wampold, PhD

    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.

    My research group and I realized that it was time to do a meta-analysis of all the studies comparing two or more legitimate treatments, to look at the question of relative efficacy in the most rigorous way possible.
  • Sep 29, 2022

    Administering Assessments: The Pragmatics of Measurement-Based Care (MBC)

    Bruce Wampold, PhD

    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.

    It’s important for the clinician to remember that their part in the MBC process really begins after the assessments have been administered.
  • Sep 15, 2022

    What to Measure In Measurement-Based Care

    Bruce Wampold, PhD

    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?

    Most patients come to therapy seeking much more than a decreased symptomatology. Generally, patients desire greater well-being and decreased loneliness.
  • Sep 8, 2022

    An Introduction to CarePaths’ Approach to MBC

    Bruce Wampold, PhD

    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.

    Keep in mind that this information is only one source of information about the patient and his or her progress. The clinical judgment of the therapist about how this information is used to improve therapy is of utmost importance.