On Becoming a Better Therapist ─ Evidence-Based Practice One Client at a Time

Produced for therapists in clinical practice by the American Psychological Association, this single-author book advises on techniques to improve skills, avoid burnout, and prevent clients from dropping out of therapy. The author advocates two key behaviors: obtain systematic feedback from clients, and develop better personal skills as a therapist. The book's main goal is to promote and demonstrate use of the author's system for getting client feedback, the Partners for Change Outcome Management System, which asks clients to answer focused questions about how the therapy is going and their relationship with the therapist after each session. This data gives therapists specific information about how they are doing, what they need to change for the therapy to be effective, and issues and patterns that come up with particular clients or all clients. This is the second edition of the book, and contains research updates, new clinical examples, a broader focus, and two new chapters, one on using the PCOMS with couples, families, and youth, and the other on using it on an organizational level. The book comes out of research which shows theoretical models and techniques have little effect on treatment results, and the biggest factors in positive results from therapy are good information about the client and a clear feedback loop between client and therapist. The author is a psychotherapist, but the tool is atheoretical and built to gather information to support evidence-based practice. The book is written in an accessible style and focuses on practical recommendations based on research evidence and the author's 17,000 hours of direct client contact. Annotation c2014 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)