I am excited to announce a seven month series starting in July of webinars and discussions about my new book, On Becoming a Better Therapist.  First here is a brief review of the book:

Drawing on many years of clinical experience and research on evidence-based practice, Duncan argues with conviction and humor that systematically monitoring client outcomes is advantageous to therapists as well as to clients. He offers lessons learned about clients being the best teachers and guidelines for what works in therapy. The guide includes a foreword by Michael J. Lambert, other pearls of wisdom, findings of the Norway Feedback Project, excerpts of therapy sessions, and information on career development tracking software (ASIST, MyOutcomes). –Reference & Research Book News (May 2010)

This will be a three-pronged effort to disseminate the ideas in the book, two of which are free. First, for those who subscribe to CDOI Members (join here for just $120 a year), beginning July 22 at noon Central, I will conduct monthly webinars on each of the seven chapters of the book, adding to the already over $400 of training materials. And stay tuned: Client videos are coming soon to CDOI Members so you will be able to learn CDOI by watching me with actual clients.

And now for the free stuff: Have you ever wanted to ask a question or engage in a conversation with an author when you were reading a book? I know I have. Starting also on July 22 at 6PM Central, I will offer a free monthly webinar discussion of my book. Each month will cover a different chapter. I’ll start our discussion with a 15 minute overview and then I’ll turn it over to you for your questions, comments, and reflections. It should be fun. For those of you who can’t attend live, I’ll record the sessions and post them on the website so you can access the discussions at your leisure. In addition, right after the webinar, I’ll be hosting a two-hour discussion about each chapter of the book on the heroicagencies list (join now). I hope you can join me. I am anxious to hear your impressions and questions about the book.

Here is the free webinar announcement:

On Becoming a Better Therapist: Chapter One Discussion
Most of us became therapists because we wanted to be helpful to other human beings, and most of us carry an inextinguishable passion to become better at it. But how do we get better? The truth is that although we are painfully aware that some clients clearly don’t benefit while others inexplicably end therapy, we don’t know how effective we really are or what we can do to improve our outcomes. Despite our hard work and good intentions, unfruitful encounters with clients combined with the confusing cacophony of “latest” developments can weigh on us, steer us into ruts, and make us forget why we became therapists to begin with. How can we remember our original aspirations, continue to develop as therapists, and achieve better results, more often, with a wider variety of clients? In short: how can you become a better therapist?

On Becoming answers that question in a pragmatic and clinically nuanced way, presenting a five-step method of integrating outcome management with therapists’ long-term professional development. In this first of seven webinars corresponding to the seven chapters of the book, I will present a 15 minute overview of the first chapter followed by your questions, comments, and reflections. My hope is that the book and these discussions will inspire you to rediscover purpose in your work and help you become a better therapist.

Join us for a Webinar on July 22: 6PM Central to 7:30 It’s free! Every month a free webinar!

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/863269466

Hope you join me!

I am doing a free webinar about CDOI. Here is a teaser:

And here is info about the webinar:

“Dr. Barry Duncan – What in the heck is CDOI? Client Directed, Outcome Informed Ideas and Practices”

You might hear folks say CDOI this or CDOI that, and wonder, what in the heck is CDOI?! Client directed, outcome informed services contain no fixed techniques or causal theories regarding the concerns that bring people to treatment. Any interaction can be client-directed and outcome-informed when the consumer’s voice is privileged, social justice is embraced, recovery is expected, and helpers purposefully form partnerships to: (1) enhance the factors across theories that account for success—especially the heart and soul of change; (2) use client’s ideas and preferences (theories) to guide choice of technique and model; and (3) inform the work with reliable and valid measures of the consumer’s experience of the alliance and outcome. This webinar covers the waterfront, from recovery to the common factors to the ORS and SRS—an all in one place description of this thing we call CDOI.

Date: Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM CDT

Register now by clicking the link below:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/326593746  

BTW, check out the new resources added to the handouts page: CDOI Fact Sheet, Youth Outcome Management, and Evidence Based Practice Talking Points: http://heartandsoulofchange.com/resources/handouts/

And I wanted to let you know about all the publicity the Norway Feedback Study has received after a press release was sent out by the University of Rhode Island—a co-investigator of the study was Dr. Jacqueline Sparks, faculty in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies.

5 Questions with Dr. Sparks http://www.pbn.com/detail.html?sub_id=46289

New Therapy Technique Reduces Divorce Rates http://ow.ly/162i0O

Professor finds strong link between counseling approach and relationship success: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171024.php  

Finally, the Norway Feedback Study also made the Clinician Digest by Garry Cooper in the November edition of the Psychotherapy Networker. Check it out:

http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/magazine/currentissue/689-clinicians-digest?start=3

I hope you join me for the free webinar.

Two things continue to excite me about training folks in CDOI: first is the opportunity to meet people on the front lines who truly value this work and strive to get better at it; and two, being able to experience the application of CDOI well beyond its beginnings in traditional outpatient psychotherapy: for example, like Mary Haynes and case management (and other areas), Bob Bohanske and wrap around (and other areas), Barry Winstead and adult inpatient, Dave Claude and residential “co-occurring disorder” services, just to mention a few. Such applications take quite a commitment to client privilege as well as a large dose of creativity to figure out the logistics involved. Any data that can be collected in such settings will go a long way to support CDOI ideas and practices, and further the mission of bringing clients into the inner circle of decision making about their own care. Because before the measures were validated and long before others and our own RCTs found the power of feedback to improve effectiveness, there was a desire to privilege client voice and provide services that are just.

So I wanted to let you know that we are continuing to get more folks on board in such settings. I was in Jackson, Mississippi a couple of weeks ago and they are gearing up for application in child/adolescent inpatient, residential, foster care, and home-based preservation services. Art Ring is leading a very talented group at Mississippi Children’s Home and I look forward to their success. And Wesley Community Action in New Zealand is also taking CDOI to places I never imagined it could go. David Hanna and Robyn Pope are applying CDOI in walk in community centers, services for the elderly who have just transitioned to assisted living arrangements, foster care, and other social services. Their commitment to social justice continues to inspire me. Their credo:

We are working for a just and caring society
We believe positive change is always possible
We work in partnership with people,
We listen actively
We respond with honesty and openness
We remain open to challenge, change and growth
We work …
As members of communities
Out of compassion
As facilitators of positive change

They are starting a network of CDOI interested folks in New Zealand. New Zealanders should contact Robyn at  RPope@wesleyca.org.nz.

On another note, here are my slides for an upcoming workshop in West Palm Beach that provide the rationale for practive based evidence and CDOI.

PBEUpdateSlides

Four simple questions on well-being asked at the start of each session of ongoing couple therapy can greatly increase chances for reconciliation and improved relationships, according to a newly published study. The largest clinical trial with couples to date, it shows that divorce and separation rates for couples that used this feedback technique were 46.2 percent less than that of couples who received therapy as usual. The findings, published in the August 1, 2009, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, are the results of a 2-year study conducted at the Vestfold Family Counseling Center in Norway by a U.S.-Norwegian team of researchers.

From October 2005 to December 2007, 205 randomly selected couples receiving therapy in southern Norway participated in the study, which investigated the effects of providing ongoing feedback regarding the progress of treatment to both clients and therapists. The couples had problems typical of struggling relationships: communication difficulties, loss of feeling for partner, jealousy/infidelity, conflict, and coping with partner’s physical or psychological problems. Half of the study group had feedback incorporated into their therapy while the other half did not.

Couples who used the feedback method rated their well-being on an individual, interpersonal, social, and overall basis by using a visual scale called the Outcome Rating Scale (ORS) at the beginning of each session. The results were used to guide each session: if progress was not noted, new directions for therapy were discussed and implemented. Therapists participating in the study received training on how to integrate the findings of the ORS and collaborate with couples to find new solutions.

“Adding feedback can truly boost effectiveness in couples therapy,” said Dr. Barry Duncan, one of the authors of the study. “It encourages couples to honestly evaluate their progress and enables therapists to adjust therapy before it’s too late.” Although feedback has been demonstrated to improve individual psychotherapy outcomes, no studies until now have examined couples therapy.

Participants were contacted 6 months after the last therapy session. Respondents answered questions about their experience in treatment, including whether the couple remained together. The feedback couples were not only more satisfied with their relationships but also reported significantly lower rates of separation or divorce: a 18.4 percent separation/divorce rate for ORS couples versus 34.2 percent for non-ORS couples.

This study adds to growing evidence that ongoing client feedback in psychotherapy can significantly improve outcomes.

For more information on the ORS, see this website and www.myoutcomes.com .

Media Relations Contact: Barry L. Duncan, Psy.D., barrylduncan@comcast.net, (954) 721-2981, or (561) 239-3640.

Co-authors on the study were Morten G. Anker, Ph. D., the Family Counseling Office in Vestfold, Norway; Barry L. Duncan, Psy.D., the Heart and Soul of Change Project; and Jacqueline A. Sparks, Ph.D., the University of Rhode Island.

Worldwide, there are more than 20,000 registered users of the Outcome Rating Scale. The ORS is available in a variety of formats, including MyOutcomes, a Web-based software application that provides quick and easy administration and interpretation of the ORS.