The Power of Measurement-Based Care in Counseling: Improving Treatment Outcomes

Measurement-based care is a term you may not have heard of before, but it's one that's quickly gaining traction in the mental health field. The basic idea behind it is that therapists and counselors should be using screening and assessment tools regularly to measure how their clients are doing. This gives them a clear picture of the client's functioning and allows them to adjust mental health treatment as necessary. There is great evidence that using these assessment tools can improve treatment outcomes for clients and help them get more out of counseling.

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So...measurement-based mental health care is a practice that uses data to better understand and treat your mental health needs. And, as a client of measurement-based care, you'll have access to more personalized treatment options than ever before. But what does this mean for you as a client? What does it mean for your future? And how can it help? Read on to see how measurement-based counseling is helping people all over the world—and if it could be right for you!

What is Measurement-Based Care?

Measurement Based Health Care is a practice of using data, such as that from lab draws in a physical healthcare setting or from screening tools in mental health, to guide treatment. It's an important component of evidence-based practice. In this approach, measurement helps formulate treatment plans and assess their effectiveness.

Comprehensive measurement-based health care has several components:

• The use of measurement to guide treatment plans

• The use of measurement as a tool for monitoring progress and tweaking approaches as needed along the way according to patient feedback and therapist reflection

• The regular use of assessment data (such as from an initial evaluation or ongoing progress reviews) to determine the effectiveness of interventions, which leads back into treatment planning

What Does Measurement-Based Care Look Like in Mental Health Counseling?

Measurement-Based Care is an evidence-based practice for behavioral health that uses a measurement-based approach to treatment. It helps you achieve your goals by using data to identify areas of improvement and progress, while also identifying problems early on.

Measurement Based Care can be used with individuals or groups, with any type of problem (both physical and mental), at any stage in their life. Measurement based care is also flexible; it can be adjusted according to the patient's needs as they change over time.

How Does Measurement-Based Care Help Me as a Counseling Client?

Measurement-Based Care is an evidence-based practice for behavioral health.

As a client, it likely means you'll receive various mental health screening tools when you first start working with a therapist or client. This is part of a comprehensive mental health assessment your provider is using to develop treatment goals and create a treatment plan. Generally, these are pretty quick and easy to fill out, but some may be longer, particularly early in treatment.

Then, during treatment, your counselor or therapist may use different assessment tools to help monitor your progress. This information can be used to make necessary changes to the approach or goals of therapy.

Your Therapist May Assign Screening/Assessment Tools Regularly or As Needed

Often, you'll receive screening tools to measure your progress on a regular basis. For example, if you're working on anxiety or trauma, you may take a quick screening tool such as the GAD7 or PCL5 on a weekly basis while actively working on those things. Or, if you have depression, you might take the PHQ9 every week.

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Other times, you may take a screening tool less often. For example, if your therapist has been treating you for anxiety but suspects you may actually have OCD they may have you fill out something called a YBOCs scale. Or, if you have Bipolar Disorder you may occasionally be asked to fill out the Young Mania Rating Scale.

In other words, as a client in counseling, measurement-based care gives you and your therapist access to regular feedback about how you're doing in treatment. This type of data can be used to make necessary adjustments to your treatment plan, goals, or approach.

Measurement Based Care is a Component of Most Evidence Based Counseling Methods

At Aspire Counseling, our therapists and counselors are all trained in a variety of evidence-based counseling practices to treat a wide range of mental health concerns such as various trauma therapies (EMDR, Prolonged Exposure, TF-CBT, or CPT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). All of these evidence-based counseling methods our clinicians have been using for years include some sort of regular measurement of a client's symptoms and progress.

Measurement Based Care if an Evidence Based Practice in Mental Health

Measurement Based Care is in and of itself an evidence-based practice in mental health. Data shows that simply by regularly measuring a client's symptoms and having the clinician review that data, the client will get better more quickly. I imagine this has to do with a few things.

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For one, it's likely that clients feel more hopeful and motivated when they see their progress over time in a graph or table. It's also likely that clinicians are more likely to catch problems early on when they're looking at data regularly. And finally, it's having data about progress helps clinicians make necessary changes to treatment more quickly.

In other words, there are lots of good reasons to use Measurement Based Care in counseling! And, at Aspire Counseling, it is standard practice to use scaling tools in both our initial assessments and on an ongoing basis throughout treatment. So, if you're looking for a counseling provider who uses this evidence-based practice, look no further!

Begin Counseling with a Therapist Who Uses Measurement Based Care in Missouri

At Aspire Counseling, we believe you deserve truly effective mental health treatment. We know you're sick of feeling stuck.  You want to feel better and you want to see results from counseling. Our counselors believe in the power of psychotherapy and care deeply about helping you reach your goals. That's why we only use evidence based practices in our work with clients.

If you're ready to start feeling better, we're here to help. Give us a call at (573) 328-2288 or reach out online to get matched with a clinician and have a free consultation appointment to talk about how evidence-based counseling can help you.

About the Author

Jessica Tappana believes deeply in the power of psychotherapy to transform lives. She's seen it help countless clients of her own over her career and in the past 5 years have heard the stories of how the counselors and therapists she's brought on board at Aspire Counseling have helped clients as well. She is trained in a variety of evidence-based counseling methods herself and sees evidence-based counseling as the founding principle of our practice. When not working, you can find her spending time with her husband and two children including rooting on the Mizzou Tigers, traveling throughout Missouri to visit family, reading and trying out the various local coffee shops we have in town-Lakota Coffee being a favorite!