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Questions and Answers about Feedback Informed Treatment and Deliberate Practice: Another COVID-19 Resource
Since they were developed and tested back in the late 90’s, the Outcome and Session Rating Scales have been downloaded by practitioners more than 100,000 times! Judging by the number of cases entered into the three authorized software applications, the tools have been used inform service delivery for millions of clients seeking care for different… — read more
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Improving the Odds: Implementing FIT in Care for Problem Gamblers and their Families
Quick Healthcare Quiz What problem in the U.S. costs the government approximately $274 per adult annually? If you guessed gambling, give yourself one point. According to the latest research, nearly 6 million Americans have a serious gaming problem—a number that is on the rise. One-third of the Nation’s adults visit a Casino every year, losing… — read more
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Are you Better? Improving Effectiveness One Therapist at a Time
Greetings from snowy Sweden. I’m in the beautiful city of Gothenburg this week, working with therapists and administrators on implementing Feedback-Informed Treatment (FIT). I’m always impressed by the dedication of those who attend the intensive workshops. More, I feel responsible for providing a training that not only results in mastery of the material, but also… — read more
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Intake: A Mistake
Available evidence leaves little doubt. As I’ve blogged about previously, separating intake from treatment results in: • Higher dropout rates; • Poorer outcomes; • Longer treatment duration; and • Higher costs And yet, in many public behavioral health agencies, the practice is commonplace. What else can we expect? Chronically underfunded, and… — read more
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Happy Holidays from ICCE
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The Revolution in Sweden: More Evidence and A Brief Follow Up
On May 13th, I blogged about a change in guidelines for clinical practice in Sweden. As in many other countries, CBT enjoyed near exclusive status as "evidence-based" on most official lists of approved treatments. Billions of Swedish crowns were spent on the approach that ultimately had no effect on the outcome of people treated… — read more
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The International Center for Clinical Excellence: Using Social Networks for "Real Time" Research
The International Center for Clinical Excellence was officially lauched at the Evolution of Psychotherapy Conference in December 2009. Since that time, membership has grown steadily. With over 3800 members, the ICCE is the largest, web-based community of behavioral health professionals dedicated to improving the quality and outcome of service delivery. The site features nearly… — read more
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Mental Health Practice in a Global Economy
Did you feel it? The seismic shift that occurred in field of mental health just a little over a month ago? No? Nothing? Well, in truth, it wasn’t so much a rip in the space-time continuum as a run. That "run," however, promises to forever alter the fabric of clinical practice–in particular how clinicians earn… — read more
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Optum Health and the ICCE: Partnering to Achieve Excellence in Behavioral Health
Monday, November 28th, 2011 Chicago, IL & Goldern Valley, MN The members, associaties, and directors of the International Center for Clinical Excellence are proud to announce a partnership with Optum Health’s Campaign for Excellence. Optum Health works with employers, payers, and providers serving nearly 60,000,000 people. Their "Campaign for Excellence (CFE)" was specifically designed to… — read more
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Feedback-Informed Treatment as Evidence-based Practice: APA, SAMSHA, and NREPP
What is evidence-based practice? Visit the UK-based NICE website, or talk to proponents of particular theoretical schools or therapeutic models, and they will tell you that being "evidence-based" means using the approach research has deemed effective for a particular diagnosis (e.g., CBT for depression, EMDR for trauma). Over the last two decades, numerous organizations and… — read more
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Changing Home-Based Mental Health Care for Good: Using Feedback Informed Treatment
Modified Arnold Woodruff & Kathy Levenston Some teach. Some write. Some publish research. Arnold Woodruff and Kathy Levenston work for a living! Kathy Levenston specializes in working with foster and adopted children. Arnold Woodruff developed the first intensive in-home program run by a community services board in Virginia. He has over 30 years of experience, and has served as… — read more
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Becoming FIT: Simple but not Easy
Becoming FIT (feedback informed in treatment). Ask any experienced practitioner and they will tell you, "it’s such a simple idea, but it’s not easy." In addition to the time it takes to master the administration and interpretation of formal feedback, special skills are required for using the information to guide service delivery. Implementation in agencies… — read more
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Growing by Leaps and Bounds: ICCE Membership Nearing 2000!
In December 2009, the International Center for Clinical Excellence was officially launched. From our booth at the Evolution of Psychotherapy conference, the international web-based community "went live," adding hundreds of members in a few days. By April, as I reported in my blog, over 1000 clinicians, researchers, policy makers, and adminsitrators had joined the site, making… — read more
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What is "Best Practice?"
You have to admit the phrase “best practice” is the buzzword of late. Graduate school training programs, professional continuing education events, policy and practice guidelines, and funding decisions are tied in some form or another to the concept. So, what exactly is it? At the State and Federal level, lists of so-called “evidence-based” interventions have been assembled and… — read more
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No Therapist Left Behind: Improving the Quality and Outcome of Behavioral Health Services One Practitioner at a Time
Staying “up-to-date” isn’t easy in today’s practice environment. In these lean economic times, training budgets are often the first to be cut. On the other hand, trying to separate the “important” from “irrelevant” in our information-rich age can be, as Mitchell Kapor once observed, “a bit like trying to get a drink from a fire hydrant.” … — read more
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Implementing Consumer-Driven, Outcome-Informed (CDOI) Behavioral Health Services: The ICCE and 2010 Training of Trainers Event
This week I’m in Calgary, Canada. Last week, I was in Charleston, South Carolina. Next week, I’ll be in Marion, Ohio and Bay city, Michigan. In each instance, I’m working with the management and staff of public behavioral health agencies that are busy implementing consumer-driven, outcome-informed clinical work. Some of the groups are just beginning… — read more
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ICCE Membership Hits 1000!
Just yesterday, the membership of the International Center for Clinical Excellence burst through the 1000 mark, making it the largest community of behavioral health professionals dedicated to excellence and consumer-driven, outcome-informed clinical practice (CDOI). And there’s more news…click on the video below. — read more
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International Center for Clinical Excellence: Update and Announcement
On August 24th, right here on the "Top Performance" blog, I announced the formation of the International Center for Clinical Excellence. As anyone who has been reading my recent posts or publication knows, my work is evolving; specifically, putting prior research on the common factors, measurement of outcome and alliance, and feedback to work in helping… — read more