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.

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.