[Ididitmyway]

Would you like your therapist to check with you regularly on how they are doing and if what they do is working for you?

The feedback might be given either weekly or monthly or however is agreed upon between you and the therapist.

I'm interested in his view, not so much on my progress (I kinda think I'm the best judge of that) but on how the relationship is going from his perspective. I might not always agree with him but it's collaborative so his opinion is important.

[LostOnTheTrail]

Although I believe that some degree of dialogue is important, I would have to say no. I feel as though I have made more progress since R stopped wanting to review our progress after every six sessions.

I don't think I could trust a T who wanted to review weekly.

[Tried2long]

Once in a while would be enough. My problem is when a therapist is doing things behind your back and withholding information. I mean if a therapist is going to do that, what good are they?

[Electric76]

I understand why they check in...but doing it on a consistent basis like that would bug me. I think its better establishing trust so I feel comfortable expressing when something doesn't feel right. Aside from that maybe checking when the subject naturally becomes about our work together

[zoiecat]

My therapist requires me to fill out a for question survey type thing on this tablet every week there's also a four question survey thing on how I've been doing over the past 7 days. Quite frankly I hate filling it out I feel pressured but I voice my opinion on that every week he always tells me I don't have to do it but I know it wants me to do it so I just push the little buttons I guess it is nice that he is asking for my opinion each week.

[atisketatasket]

I want them invested in their job performance but I don't want to be filling out a survey on a tablet after every session as with DBC (I did it once and then flat out refused - do your own effing quality control, maybe build a good enough relationship with your client that they can tell you to your face when things aren't going well in session).

The better ones have always checked in, not at fixed intervals, but consistently. That works for me.

[toomanycats]

I say not sure, because I feel like I would like it in the early stages (the first few months), but then I wouldn't want to keep doing this every month or whatever long-term

I would and actually did give them feedback (both positive and negative), even though they never really asked for it. I would want therapists (just like any professional, including myself in my job) interested in this kind of feedback, but what's even more important is to be receptive to it, not act defensively if it is critical (like one of my Ts did almost each time), and to be willing to adjust approaches individually. Performance reviews are done on many jobs and often they are just a formality, without much consideration and effect on subsequent performance. So I would want therapists to do it and also to take it seriously. I would also want the T to really focus this on how they do and not how the client is doing, although of course the two should ideally be related.

None of my therapists used my feedback constructively, at least as far as changing things. As I said, one of them tended to become defensive, and the other one listened, thanked for it, and just moved on. He never even responded to several of my direct requests to do things differently... said that he would, but never happened. I don't think this kind of rigidity is speciic for therapists though, I see pretty much the same trend in my own profession from most people.

As for frequency, perhaps weekly is too often in the kinds of therapies we most often discuss in this forum, there isn't even time to see the real effects of the Ts work on the client's issues. Also, if it is done in session, it would use too much of the client's paid time. Maybe once a month? I could imagine maybe a questionnaire that the client can fill out outside of session and submit, and then it would be up to the client to bring it up in session if they want to, or the T wold ask if they would like to discuss it in person and accept 'no' for an answer. They would still have the questionnaire result.

[feileacan]

I answered "Not sure" because obviously giving feedback is important but when it is something structured and regular then I'm not sure in its value anymore because then it most likely just becomes a formality.

So, if my T would ask me to fill in some kind of questionnaire or propose to talk about our progress without necessitating context then I would just refuse and if he would propose it ever again then I would probably fire him because for me that would be evidence that he is not the kind of therapist I need.

I don't believe in formal progress reports in therapy, because I think people mostly don't even know themselves what are they really working in on therapy. That's why I also don't believe in concrete therapy goals and I would never work with a T who would insist to agree certain goals and who would want to monitor the progress towards these goals.

Originally Posted by feileacan

I don't believe in formal progress reports in therapy, because I think people mostly don't even know themselves what are they really working in on therapy. That's why I also don't believe in concrete therapy goals and I would never work with a T who would insist to agree certain goals and who would want to monitor the progress towards these goals.

See, this is one point of view. Mine is the complete opposite and I refuse to spend my time and money on therapy that has no direction, purpose, and goals. I tried to do it that way for a while in the past and had mostly negative experiences. So perhaps the T could ask the client in the beginning (and/or occasionally) what style they prefer, and then adjust accordingly on the go, make feedback optional and flexible etc. I am quite confident that some clients prefer working towards goals and evaluate with some regularity both their progress and whether the T is useful in the process, others don't find these things helpful, and probably there is everything in between. I like the idea of asking because some people are just too shy to bring up criticisms by themselves.

[growlycat]

I'm pretty assertive. I just tell him when things are going awry.

[feileacan]

Originally Posted by Xynesthesia

See, this is one point of view. Mine is the complete opposite and I refuse to spend my time and money on therapy that has no direction, purpose, and goals. I tried to do it that way for a while in the past and had mostly negative experiences. So perhaps the T could ask the client in the beginning (and/or occasionally) what style they prefer, and then adjust accordingly on the go, make feedback optional and flexible etc. I am quite confident that some clients prefer working towards goals and evaluate with some regularity both their progress and whether the T is useful in the process, others don't find these things helpful, and probably there is everything in between. I like the idea of asking because some people are just too shy to bring up criticisms by themselves.

I think that's great that you know how you want to work in therapy. I know too and for me any T who would ask in the beginning what style I will prefer would just get fired immediately. If he can't adapt to the style I need without asking me explicitly then he is just not someone I want to work with.

[Ididitmyway]

Thanks everyone for your responses.

I think, I need to clarify that my question was regarding the therapist's performance, not the client's progress, because I get a sense that some of you have understood it as some kind of a progress report card which is not what I meant.

I voted yes for the same reasons Xynestesia has given:

1) I wanted to see the therapist accepting some accountability for their performance;

2) While being in therapy I got sick and tired of my concerns and objections to what didn't work being dismissed as my "issues" that either had something to do with transference or with other projections from the past experiences. That's why I thought that if the therapist asks for feedback that would imply that they are interested in how I feel and what I think about their performance, which to me is imperative.

I value collaboration in general and, in therapy, because of the personal nature of the service collaboration to me is crucial. But collaboration cannot be established if there is no room for honest feedback from the client, and, actually, from the client and the therapist both. Without this kind of openness no real progress can be made IMO. I think, both sides, the provider and the consumer, need to make sure every once in a while if things are working well and there is nothing in the process that hinders the progress for the client.

Weekly check ins are, probably, too frequent to be meaningful, but monthly ones sounds about right to me. I thought of some brief monthly questionnaire that can be filled out and submitted online by the client by a certain date every month at their convenience at home. This would certainly work for me.

[ElectricManatee]

I might be annoyed if my therapist asked for feedback regularly because I don't want to spend session time evaluating her performance as a therapist. That's about her, not about me, and I think she should do that on her own time with colleagues or in supervision. I do want her to accept feedback about what's working for me and what isn't when I offer it without automatically assuming it's about my issues. I'm not terribly shy about giving feedback when I feel like it even if it's sort of difficult to say, though, so maybe I'm balking at the idea just because it seems unnecessary.

It reminds me of the part in The Gift of Therapy where Irvin Yalom is trying to ask this perplexing dude what worked for him in the session, and the guy peaces out without answering. I was cheering on the inside because a) I don't think Yalom needs any more positive feedback, and b) I don't think the client is obligated to talk about anything they don't want to talk about, even if it's about the therapist.

[here today]

Here's an article about feedback that might appeal to some therapists.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...t-know/517797/

It may get at what I see as a problem when I have tried to give feedback to therapists -- they take it personally, as a criticism, rather than "this is how this affected me, this isn't working for me, etc." Probably, too, it was the way that I expressed things but just bringing up the topics was an advancement for me. It would be interesting if my resulting discouragement would have shown up in the "metrics" the article describes. Too late now for me, but it would be great if therapists in general could get on board. Some tools are apparently out there -- the culture of therapy may be the problem. At least it seems like that to me. But, at least, the therapist-author was honest about things and maybe she can make a difference. The article certainly seems to be a start.

[Ididitmyway]

Originally Posted by here today

Here's an article about feedback that might appeal to some therapists.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...t-know/517797/

It may get at what I see as a problem when I have tried to give feedback to therapists -- they take it personally, as a criticism, rather than "this is how this affected me, this isn't working for me, etc." Probably, too, it was the way that I expressed things but just bringing up the topics was an advancement for me. It would be interesting if my resulting discouragement would have shown up in the "metrics" the article describes. Too late now for me, but it would be great if therapists in general could get on board. Some tools are apparently out there -- the culture of therapy may be the problem. At least it seems like that to me. But, at least, the therapist-author was honest about things and maybe she can make a difference. The article certainly seems to be a start.

Terrific article. Thank you for sharing.

I've talked once to a woman who, as a client, used the FIT system and she described how it helped her. You can read her story here Therapy Consumer Guide - My therapy works because my feedback counts

I completely understand the reluctance to using it on both the therapists' and the clients' parts. Many innovations are met with rejection and resistance at first especially because in the beginning stage they may be clumsy and not easy to use but things get refined and minds change over time. There are many problems with metrics in general in many fields, not only psychotherapy. My husband has a software development background (and so am I), and he says that everywhere he worked the metrics were designed stupidly because they failed to incorporate some important variables and the relationships between them. So, he always had a hard time convincing the bosses and the co-workers to change the design because with the right design the metrics did wonders. I think, when it comes to such emotion-based fields as psychotherapy the general thinking is that the heart and the hard data cannot possibly co-exist and cooperate whereas, I believe, that it's not only possible but it may greatly facilitate the healing process.

[zoiecat]

My therapists uses FIT. I know many people responded that they would not like the feedback each session but it is really not all that bad. It is only 4 questions about how you feel the T did and there is a separate survey for how you as a client have been feeling. Since I dissociate so bad I told my T if he really wanted an honest answer about that session he should ask me the next week so he has tweaked it and asks me to rate the previous session each time after I have had a chance to listen back to the recording and process my thoughts from the previous week. If he did something that upset me or I wasn't pleased with I will reflect it in my scores for him. He will usually then ask me what he can do better or what I felt was wrong so he can adjust his approach to better suit my needs. He also looks at my rating for myself to see if I have had a good or bad week and usually adjusts his questions regarding suicidal thoughts based on that since he knows I will never volunteer this information. It actually can be quite helpful even though I sometimes resent doing it. Time wise though it only takes about 30 seconds to fill out at the beginning or end of each session.

[Anastasia~]

I wouldn't really want to do that at certain intervals or anything. Both of us would speak up if something needed to be said or addressed. I just told him last session that I feel like I am better, and he agreed. And of course, I'm having a bad week. I think, though that I am overall better.

[Ididitmyway]

Originally Posted by zoiecat

My therapists uses FIT. I know many people responded that they would not like the feedback each session but it is really not all that bad. It is only 4 questions about how you feel the T did and there is a separate survey for how you as a client have been feeling. Since I dissociate so bad I told my T if he really wanted an honest answer about that session he should ask me the next week so he has tweaked it and asks me to rate the previous session each time after I have had a chance to listen back to the recording and process my thoughts from the previous week. If he did something that upset me or I wasn't pleased with I will reflect it in my scores for him. He will usually then ask me what he can do better or what I felt was wrong so he can adjust his approach to better suit my needs. He also looks at my rating for myself to see if I have had a good or bad week and usually adjusts his questions regarding suicidal thoughts based on that since he knows I will never volunteer this information. It actually can be quite helpful even though I sometimes resent doing it. Time wise though it only takes about 30 seconds to fill out at the beginning or end of each session.

Thank you for sharing this. It's good to know that weekly feedback works well for some people. I think, those of us who have never used this system can't really know what would and wouldn't work for them. I believe, many factors are at play here and much depends on how the feedback forms are designed, what kinds of questions are there, how many questions and if the system is flexible enough to change the questions to fit the individual clients' preferences. I would like to try this out as a client and as a therapist because only then I will have a better idea of how it works and if it helps.

Yes, I would have, and I wish I had asked her to.

She did from time to time 'check in' to make sure we were okay after a tough session. But that was irregular.

I wish she would check in now but I know that ain't gonna happen.

[Ididitmyway]

Originally Posted by ArtieSwimsOn

Yes, I would have, and I wish I had asked her to.

She did from time to time 'check in' to make sure we were okay after a tough session. But that was irregular.

I wish she would check in now but I know that ain't gonna happen.

Thank you. I felt this way many times in therapy. I felt that when I was the only one who brings up concerns and who wants to make the process more effective then I was the only one who was invested in making the process work and that the therapist was not invested in that at all, which seemed incredibly unfair.

[feileacan]

Originally Posted by Ididitmyway

I've talked once to a woman who, as a client, used the FIT system and she described how it helped her. You can read her story here Therapy Consumer Guide - My therapy works because my feedback counts

I read the article and honestly, to me this system sounds just horrible. To me it feels that a therapist who adopts this system wants to please her client, wants her clients to be content and happy with her all the time. But I think I need to be able to really hate my T sometimes and I need that my T wouldn't try to get away from this hatred via feedback forms. I don't expect my opinion to make any sense to many people but to me all these steps that attempt to make therapy process something that can be measured or clarified are just attempts to simplify something that can't be simplified.

[Keyplayer]

Hi Guy`s ,

I voted yes , because if my new therapist works out , I would like her to ask me like once a month if she thought I was getting some benefit from her help.

And it would give me a chance to either say I was pleased or that maybe we could work on this a different way.

So , yes , I believe that constant dialog is always best as long as no one gets hurt and we are given or give each other the time to respond.

To me anyway m that would be the ideal scenario , a completely open therapist and client.

Take care ,

KP 

[brillskep]

Yes, definitely! My therapist used to do so at the beginning of our therapy together and he actually changed things based on my feedback. That worked very well and help me make a lot of progress. Now he rarely asks for feedback, if he does ask it's about certain things he says, and when I do give feedback without being asked he normally changes nothing if the feedback is negative. I feel like he has been and has the potential to be a much better therapist to me than he is these days.