Lessons Learned from the Implementation of a Feedback System in Couple and Family Therapy

Abstract

In this chapter, we share our implementation experiences from a combined clinical and research-based project where we explored the use of a routine outcome monitoring (ROM) within three couple—and family units in Norway. Monitoring the clients' process and outcome frequently throughout the course of treatment was successful at one clinic but represented a considerable change of the clinical practice for the other two units. One of these units withdrew from the project as the implementation challenges grew too large. The third clinic experienced considerable challenges and was about to withdraw from the project, yet they managed to turn the situation around and ultimately succeeded. This latter unit will be the focus of this chapter as reflecting on this unit's process was a learning experience on implementation and project leadership. Our major take-home message is that implementing ROM in a clinical unit is doable, but the challenges may be considerable and time-consuming. Some of the challenges in our project could have been avoided if we had more knowledge about implementation in general, and implementation of feedback systems in particular, when we began the project. The aim in this chapter was to convey our experiences and the lessons learned so that hopefully others can avoid the same pitfalls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)