Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jan 5:13:1029164.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1029164. eCollection 2022.

Implementation of a routine outcome monitoring and feedback system for psychotherapy in Argentina: A pilot study

Juan Martín Gómez-Penedo  1   2 , Rocio Manubens  1 , Malenka Areas  1   2 , Javier Fernández-Álvarez  1   3   4 , Manuel Meglio  1 , Anna Babl  5 , Santiago Juan  1 , Agnese Ronchi  1 , Roberto Muiños  1 , Andrés Roussos  1   2 , Wolfgang Lutz  6 , Martin Grosse Holtforth  4   7
Affiliations

Implementation of a routine outcome monitoring and feedback system for psychotherapy in Argentina: A pilot study

Juan Martín Gómez-Penedo et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Introduction: Routine Outcome Monitoring (ROM) has emerged as a strong candidate to improve psychotherapy processes and outcome. However, its use and implementation are greatly understudied in Latin-America. Therefore, the aim of the present pilot study conducted in Argentina was to implement a ROM and feedback system grounded on a psychometrically sound instrument to measure session by session outcome in psychotherapy.

Methods: The sample consisted of 40 patients and 13 therapists. At baseline, the patients completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and they also completed the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-11 before each of the first five sessions. To estimate patient change during the first sessions, we conducted a quantitative analysis using Hierarchical Linear Models. Furthermore, we conducted a qualitative analysis using Consensual Qualitative Research to analyze therapist perception regarding the ROM and feedback system.

Results: Results showed a significant reduction in patients' symptomatic severity during the first five sessions. Additionally, baseline depression significantly predicted the estimated severity at the end of the fifth session. Feedback was given to the therapists after the first four sessions based on these analyses. With regard to the perception of the feedback system, clinicians underlined its usefulness and user-friendly nature. They also mentioned that there was a match between the information provided and their clinical judgment. Furthermore, they provided suggestions to enhance the system that was incorporated in a new and improved version.

Discussion: Limitations and clinical implications are discussed.

Keywords: ROM; baseline characteristics; feedback; monitoring; psychotherapy outcome.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Examples of the first plots developed to provide feedback to the therapists about patients’ baseline depression (A) and anxiety levels (B).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Examples of the first plots provided to the therapists to give feedback about patients’ clinical evolution during the first five sessions. (A) presents an example of a patient who improved during the timeframe, while (B) presents the example of a patient who presented a stable pattern.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Examples of the revised plots developed to provide feedback to the therapists about patients baseline depression (A) and anxiety levels (B).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Examples of the revised plots provided to the therapists to give feedback about patients’ clinical evolution during the first five sessions. (A) presents an example of a patient who improve during the timeframe, while (B) presents the example of a patient who presented an stable pattern.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Press.
    1. Areas M., Roussos A., Hirsch H., Hirsch P., Becerra P., Gómez-Penedo J. M. (2018). Evaluación de un dispositivo de investigación orientada por la práctica para el desarrollo de un sistema de feedback en psicoterapia. Rev. Argentina de Clin. Psicol. 27, 229–249. doi: 10.24205/03276716.2018.1064 - DOI
    1. Barkham M., Lambert M. J. (2021). “The efficacy and effectiveness of psychological therapies,” in Bergin and Garfield's handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change. eds. Barkham M., Lutz W., Astonguay L. G. C. (Wiley; ), 135–190.
    1. Bates D., Mäechler M., Bolker B., Walker S. (2015). Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. J. Stat. Softw. 67, 1–48. doi: 10.18637/jss.v067.i01 - DOI
    1. Beard J. I. L., Delgadillo J. (2019). Early response to psychological therapy as a predictor of depression and anxiety treatment outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Depress. Anxiety 36, 866–878. doi: 10.1002/da.22931, PMID: - DOI - PubMed