Partly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of people have started doing therapy. It’s helped lift the mental health stigma, and as it grows more popular, the way therapists treat their patients has evolved.
One method that’s drawn attention is evidence-based psychotherapy. It’s a more analytical approach to therapy that can help providers offer more effective treatment options. This article will explain what exactly evidence-based psychotherapy is, the different types of it, and how it can benefit your patients.
What is evidence-based psychotherapy?
Essentially, it’s a way to measure the effectiveness of a therapeutic session for the patient. Therapists can use it to find therapy options that have been proven to be effective in peer-reviewed scientific experiments. It’s characterized as an adherence to psychological approaches and techniques that are based on scientific evidence, and they help establish best practices in terms of the treatment of psychological symptoms.
How can I implement evidence-based psychotherapy?
Therapists have access to numerous tools that can help them better their practice and deliver improved results for patients. Below are two popular options that have shown proven success in helping treat patients.
Outcome Rating Scale (ORS).
An ORS measures the client’s perspective of change or improvement in relation to how they felt when first starting therapy. It’s repeatedly been proven to assist with any therapist-client session, and it only takes around a minute to administer. Patients respond to four different prompts with a sliding scale to rate how they feel about their life, relationships, work, and overall well-being.
This level of feedback from the patient gives the therapist hard data that outlines the progress their patients are making. They can track that progress over significant amounts of time, and the ORS technology can quantify it and offer helpful insights into the effectiveness of the treatment.
Session Rating Scale (SRS).
The SRS closely mirrors an ORS, but it has a more singular focus. Specifically, it asks patients to provide feedback on individual sessions with their therapist. They use a sliding scale to explain if they felt understood, if the goals and topics align with their intentions, how well aligned the therapist’s approach is with the patient, and an overall satisfaction rating the patient has with the session.
Benefits of evidence-based psychotherapy.
Personalized treatment.
With the level of analytics provided by evidence-based treatments, therapists can customize their approach to each individual. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, they can better understand what works with specific patients and adjust their tactics. This helps offer more effective treatment and can help keep that individual as a patient.
Promotes ongoing learning.
The mental health treatment field continues to evolve as it becomes more prevalent, so practitioners must grow with it. Evidence-based therapy encourages ongoing growth for the provider, because they can see that certain approaches are more effective than others. That can provide a slight push to continue seeking new treatment methods.
Improved outcomes for patients.
By measuring how effective treatment is for the patient, the therapist can work towards improved results. Rather than continuing with an approach that isn’t working, they’ll have analytical proof that they need to try something else. This can drastically help the patient get the treatment they need.
Get started with evidence-based psychotherapy.
At MyOutcomes®, we offer the gold standard tracking and reporting system. We can equip you with the technology you need to improve your performance and deliver better results for your patients. You can learn more about our technology and how it can help your practice, or use our online booking tool to set up your free 30-minute implementation consultation.