FEEDBACK INFORMED THERAPY | SAN FRANCISCO + LAS VEGAS + VIRGINIA
What makes us unique from other counseling practices is the use of a state-of-the-art approach called Feedback Informed Treatment or FIT for short.
Clients who use Feedback-Informed Therapy are 2.5 times more likely to benefit from counseling.
FIT is an evidenced-based treatment that uses real-time, honest feedback from our clients at the beginning and end of each counseling session about how they feel counseling is working for them.
We use a software program that uses advanced behavior algorithms to help track your progress.
The National Institute of Mental Health has been increasingly focused on data-driven science, and our approach is at the forefront of mental health treatment.
All of our counselors are dedicated to helping you achieve your goals and feel better. Incorporating immediate feedback is part of our culture here and helps to make sure you are getting the best care.
How does FIT work in a counseling session?
At the beginning of each counseling session, you will fill out a very brief 4-item questionnaire about how you are feeling overall. It typically takes less than 30 seconds and can be automatically scored electronically. Your counselor will go over it with you and will track your progress each week.
At the end of every session, you will fill out another brief 4-item questionnaire that asks you how the session went overall. Once it is completed, your counselor will review your score with you and collaboratively work with you to see if anything needs to be adjusted or changed. For example, maybe there is a different goal you want to work on or try out a different kind of intervention. By making these changes quickly, you are more likely to get better faster.
At each session, you will see your progress on a personalized graph of how you’re progressing in your counseling.
Why is FIT so important?
To put it bluntly, the research on FIT is very powerful and consistently demonstrates it improves client outcomes. Using Feedback-Informed Treatment gives both you and your counselor hard data to ensure you are making progress. Providing feedback is critical for future treatment planning. If you are not making progress, both of you will know immediately, and we can make adjustments and corrections to help you feel better.
If FIT is so great, why are so few using it?
FIT was introduced to the field in the late 2000s, and only over the past ten years has the research significantly increased. In many cases, counselors and therapists are cautious when adding to their approaches. Additionally, the cost and training that goes into running Feedback-Informed Treatment are significant. Here at Sequoia Counseling Group, we fully embrace Feedback Informed Therapy. Our Clinical Director, Dr. Philip Gnilka, taught FIT for over a decade to his students as a Professor at several universities. He is passionate about FIT and has made it a key pillar of the culture.
