We propose to study the effects of a theory-driven and empirically-based feedback intervention to influence the cognition and behavior of counselors who provide in-home mental health services to adolescents. The feedback to counselors will be based on client ratings of therapeutic alliance. An improved therapeutic relationship is predicted to have a positive effect on the youth's mental health. The predominant approach to improving mental health outcomes is to disseminate and implement efficacious treatments into the """"""""real world"""""""". This proposal offers an approach to improving outcomes of services that is sensitive to the organizational context. Feedback on performance has been shown to improve performance in thousands of studies across many disciplines. However, in a trial of the studies feedback resulted in a decrease in performance. A theoretical understanding of feedback is required to understand the heterogeneity of the effect of feedback. Through a review of basic and applied research in cognitive, social, organizational psychology, and management we have developed a theoretical model that aims to elucidate and optimize the effects of feedback on the performance of mental health service providers. We propose to target therapeutic alliance (TA), as it is the most agreed upon common treatment factor associated with positive clinical outcomes. We will conduct a 2x2 randomized factorial study of the effects of feeding back the youth's TA ratings to the counselor. In Study 1, counselors will be randomly assigned by site to either a """"""""feedback"""""""" or a """"""""no feedback"""""""" condition. Sites will also be randomly assigned to a """"""""high involvement"""""""" or """"""""low involvement"""""""" condition in which their supervisor does or does not receive the client-generated feedback. Our model predicts an interaction effect between these two factors that should produce the largest change in counselor cognitions and behavior and the greatest improvement in symptoms and functioning. Study 2 will utilize the same design to test whether an educational component (TA counselor's manual) in addition to feedback will have an even greater positive effect on client ratings of TA and subsequent treatment outcomes. We believe that this research is both theory-based and highly relevant to mental health providers. It offers an innovative approach to improving mental health services.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 23 publications
