Progress Monitoring

Testing the Psychotherapeutic Process

Progress monitoring is a relatively new field of research in which the primary aim is to develop assessment tools to examine client change over the therapeutic process. This in turn will give clinical practitioners systematic feedback regarding their clients’ responses to treatment, a measure of their “vital signs” (Ionita, Fitzpatrick, & Overington, 2014). Progress monitoring measures generally assess three different domains, and these include psychological symptoms, well-being, and overall functioning (Ionita et al., 2014).

Ionita et al. (2014) have described the many potential benefits that would follow from the standardized implementation of progress monitoring. Firstly, progress monitoring measures allow clinicians to identify clients who are not progressing at the expected rate. For example, the Outcome Questionnaire-45 (OQ-45) was found the accurately identify 100% of the clients in a sample of individuals undergoing psychotherapy who had experienced deterioration by the end of their treatment, and correctly predicted 82% of those who experience an improvement. Another study demonstrated that when practitioners were given feedback regarding their clients’ progress, those clients who responded poorly to therapy had better outcomes than when practitioners received no feedback.

Secondly, implementing progress monitoring measures can increase the cost effectiveness of psychological interventions. They are generally short to administer and reports can be created rapidly. Furthermore, by identifying how clients are progressing in their treatment, progress monitoring measures help reduce the drop out rate of clients and reduce the number of sessions required (Ionita et al., 2014).

Finally, progress monitoring measures can help practitioners assess the quality of their services. More broadly also, data can be compared on treatment offered in different regions, and by different practitioners. (Ionita et al., 2014).

Overall, it appears to me that progress monitoring methods are a promising improvement for existing psychotherapeutic treatments which can serve to inform clients and practitioners alike, and can more broadly help standardize practice. Therefore, I believe that this is an important area of psychological assessment to continue exploring.

Ionita, G., Fitzpatrick, M., & Overington, L. (2014). Progress Monitoring. Retreived from http://mpprg.mcgill.ca/projects.html.