Volume_6_Issue_1_Digest
3 TPC Digest C ounselor education departments have a unique opportunity to implement feedback informed treatment (FIT) systems that serve as continual assessment procedures by informing counselors, clients, supervisors and educators about client functioning and progress toward goals. FIT systems are beneficial to counselors and clients as they provide clinicians with a wide array of client information such as which clients are plateauing in treatment, deteriorating, or at risk for dropping out. To date, however, few resources exist on how to infuse FIT systems into counselor education curriculum and training programs. This article addresses the current lack of information regarding the implementation of a FIT system within counselor education curricula by discussing: (1) an overview and implementation of a FIT system; (2) a comprehensive review of the psychometric properties of three main FIT systems; (3) benefits that the use of FIT systems hold for counselors-in-training; and (4) how the infusion of FIT systems within counseling curricula can help assess student learning outcomes. The implementation of FIT systems contains several procedures including: (1) the routine measurement of a client’s symptomology or distress during each session, (2) showcasing the results of the client’s symptomology or distress level in a concise and usable way, and (3) the adjustment of counseling approaches based upon the results of the feedback. FIT systems have beneficial training qualities when utilized with counselor education curriculum. Within counselor training laboratories, feedback systems have shown promise in facilitating the growth and development of beginning counselors, and the incorporation of FIT systems into supervision and training experiences has been widely supported. One such benefit is that counseling students’ self-efficacy improved when they saw evidence of their clients’ improvement. Additionally, the FIT system allowed the counselor trainees to observe their effectiveness during session, and more importantly, helped them alter their interventions when clients deteriorated or plateaued during treatment. Another benefit was that counseling students felt as if consistent use of a FIT system lowered their anxiety and relieved some uncertainty regarding their work with clients. It is developmentally appropriate for beginning counselors to struggle with low tolerance for ambiguity and the need for a highly structured learning environment when they begin their experiential practicums and internships. Several positive benefits are added to the clinical supervision of counseling students. One such benefit is that clinical supervisors found weekly objective reports of their supervisees helpful in providing evidence of a client’s progress during session that was not solely based upon their supervisees’ self-report. This is crucial because relying on self-report as a sole method of supervision can be an insufficient way to gain information about the complexities of the therapeutic process. In addition to these training benefits, FIT systems also serve as a way to intentionally measure CACREP Student Learning Outcomes with specific attention to client care and therapeutic outcomes. Overall, counselor educator programs can use FIT systems to meet multiple needs across their curricula including more advanced supervision practices, CACREP Student Learning Outcome Measurement and better overall client care. Chad M. Yates is an Assistant Professor at Idaho State University. Courtney M. Holmes is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. Jane C. Coe Smith is an Assistant Professor at Idaho State University. Tiffany Nielson is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Correspondence can be addressed to Chad M. Yates, 921 South 8th Ave, Stop 8120, Pocatello, Idaho, 83201, yatechad@isu.edu . Read full article and references: Yates, C. M., Holmes, C. M., Smith, J. C. C., & Nielson, T. (2015). The benefits of implementing a feedback informed treatment system within counselor education curriculum. The Professional Counselor , 6, 22–32. doi : 10.15241/cy.6.1.22 3 TPC Digest
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