Using client feedback in training of future counseling psychologists: An evidence-based and social justice practice

Abstract

Training in counseling psychology has evolved to emphasize both evidence-based practice (EBP) and social justice, though these two dimensions have often seemed disconnected, or even at odds in the practice of psychotherapy. The Partners for Change Outcome Management System (PCOMS), an EBP that monitors treatment outcomes and the therapeutic alliance across treatment (often called “client feedback”), may offer a means to connect evidence-based and socially just practices. The purpose of this article was to outline how the use of PCOMS in psychotherapy and supervision can serve as a useful training tool that is a form of EBP and also promotes a socially just paradigm in psychotherapy. We also offer an implementation example from a counseling psychology doctoral program to demonstrate how PCOMS can be used with clients in psychotherapy and included within the supervisory process.

Keywords:

• evidence-based practice
• social justice
• client feedback
• psychotherapy supervision
• counseling psychology

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Barry Duncan and Jackie Sparks for their feedback on an earlier version of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.