The Growing Evidence Base for Feedback-Informed Treatment (FIT)

January 25, 2011 By scottdm Leave a Comment

Dateline: February 2, 2011
Location: Anchorage, AK
Greetings from Anchorage, Alaska where I’ve been traveling and teaching about feedback-informed treatment (FIT). On Monday, I worked with dedicated behavioral health professionals living and working in Barrow–the northern most point in the United States. FIT has literally reached the “top of the world.” How incredible is that?

Here I am pictured in front of a sign which locals told me would prove I’d made the long journey to the village of 5,000. I look forward to returning soon to help the group with the “nuts and bolts” of implementing FIT across various behavioral health services–practitoners were keen to get started.

As I’ve crisscrossed the state, I’ve been proud to share the growing evidence-base for feedback informed work. Below, the data is summarized in a free, downloadable PDF file, “Measures and Feedback,” which has been updated to include the latest research using the ORS and SRS to improve the quality and outcome of treatment. If you accessed this file back in 2010, be sure to get this updated version.

Measures and feedback 2016 from Scott Miller

Getting FIT: The Advanced Intensive Training

January 19, 2011 By scottdm Leave a Comment

Dateline: January 19, 2011
Buffalo, New York

The New Year is here and travel/training season is in full swing. Last week, I was in Ohio and Virginia. This week New York and Idaho (keep your weather fingers crossed, it’s going to be dicey getting from here to there and home again).

Interest in “Feedback Informed Treatment” continues to grow. Agencies across the United States and abroad–as my travel schedule attests–are implementing the ORS and SRS in routine clinical practice. Clinicians are finding the support they need on the International Center for Clinical Excellence web-based community. As I blogged about a while back, the ICCE is the largest and most diverse group of practitioners working to improve the quality and outcome of behavioral health services. Many will soon be joining me in Chicago for the 2011 “Advanced Intensive” training. Once again, clinicians from all over the world will be in attendance–Sweden, Holland, England, Australia and so on. Interest is high as participants receive a thorough, state-of-the-art grounding in the principles and practice of FIT. I look forward to meeting everyone soon.

Last summer, I videoblogged about the event. Ah, summer! With everything my co-teacher, psychologist Susanne Bargmann, and I have planned, we promise a warm and rewarding event.

Getting FIT in the New Year: The Latest Evidence

January 18, 2011 By scottdm Leave a Comment

John Norcross, Ph.D. is without a doubt the researcher that has done the most to highlight the evidence-base supporting the importance of the relationship between clinician and consumer in successful behavioral healthcare. The second edition of his book, Psychotherapy Relationships that Work, is about to be released. Like the last edition, this volume is a virtual treasure trove of research findings and empirically supported practices.

Among the many gems in the book is a chapter by Michael J. Lambert, Ph.D–pioneering researcher on “feedback-informed treatment” (FIT). As usual, he does a masterful job summarizing the existing research on the subject. The data are overwhelmingly positive: seeking and using standardized feedback regarding the progress and outcome of treatment cuts drop out and deterioration rates and significantly improves outcome.

Lambert also reports the results of two meta-analyses. One performed on studies using his own OQ System family of measures, the other based on research using the ORS and SRS. Not only did he find ample empirical support for the two systems, but in the case of the ORS and SRS those therapies informed by feedback, “had 3.5 times higher odds of experiencing reliable change.” Additionally, and importantly, the brief, 4-item ORS and SRS scales performed the same as the longer and more detailed OQ 45.2.

What can you do? First, order John’s book. Second, if you are not FIT, now is the time to register to use the measures. And if you need support, why not join the International Center for Clinical Excellence? Like the measures, there is no cost. Right now, professionals from different disciplines, working in diverse settings are connecting with and learning from each other. Here’s a nudge: you’ll be able to reach John Norcross there—he’s one of ICCE’s newest members.