FIT is therapy that listens to you and measures whether it’s helping

A collaborative approach focused on your progress

FIT is therapy that listens to you and measures whether it’s helping. It shows you your results in user-friendly graphs.

I believe effective therapy should be guided not only by my clinical experience, but also by your experience of therapy and whether it is helping you.

That is why, since 2004, I have used Feedback-Informed Treatment (FIT), supported by MyOutcomes®.

FIT gives us a simple way to regularly ask:

• Are you experiencing meaningful improvement in your life and relationships?
• Is the therapy—and the way we are working together—meeting your needs?

Your answers help us keep therapy focused on what matters most to you.

What is Feedback-Informed Treatment?

FIT is an evidence-informed approach that makes your experience and progress an active part of therapy. Rather than simply assuming therapy is helping, we regularly check.

This helps us recognise progress, notice when things may have stalled, and identify when we need to change our focus or approach.

FIT does not replace professional judgement, conversation or the therapeutic relationship. It provides additional information that we can discuss together.

How does it work?

I use two very brief measures:

The Outcome Rating Scale (ORS) helps us look at how you are doing in important areas of your life, including your personal wellbeing and relationships.

The Session Rating Scale (SRS) gives you an opportunity to tell me how you experienced the session—whether you felt understood and whether the focus and approach were right for you.

Each takes about a minute or less to complete. Your responses are securely collected and tracked through MyOutcomes®, allowing us to see patterns in your progress over time.

The scores themselves are not the most important part. What matters is the conversation they help create.

Why measure progress?

Every person is different. What works well for one person or couple may not work as well for another.

Regular feedback helps us recognise improvement, identify concerns early, revisit your goals and adjust our approach when necessary.

If therapy is not progressing as we hoped, that is useful information—not a failure. We can change our focus, try a different approach, explore something we may have missed, or consider whether another form of support would be more helpful.

The aim is to respond early rather than continue for months simply hoping things will improve.

Your honest feedback matters

You do not need to protect my feelings.

If you did not feel heard, we focused on the wrong issue, something important was overlooked, or my approach is not working for you, I want to know.

Therapy is a collaborative process. You bring your knowledge of your life, relationships and what matters to you. I bring my clinical experience, training and therapeutic tools.

Together, we can keep asking:

• Is this helping?
• Are we working on the right things?
• Do you feel understood?
• Is there something we need to change?

Frequently Asked Questions

• Do I have to complete the measures? Your participation and feedback are always your choice.
• Will they take time away from therapy? Very little. The ORS and SRS generally take less than a minute each.
• Are they psychological tests? No. They are brief clinical tools designed to support conversation and monitor progress. They are not diagnostic tests.
• What if I am not improving? We talk about it and decide together whether something needs to change.
• What if I give negative feedback about a session? It is welcome. I would much rather know when something is not working so that we can discuss what might be more helpful.
• Is my information secure? I use MyOutcomes® to collect and manage information used in FIT. If you have questions about privacy, confidentiality or how your information is handled, please ask me.

Therapy Guided by Evidence—and by You

Using FIT reflects my commitment to therapy that is collaborative, evidence-informed, responsive and accountable.

Good therapy is not only about what the therapist thinks is happening.

Your experience matters. Your progress matters. And your feedback helps guide our work together.

That’s why FIT is therapy that listens to you and measures whether it is helping.

The Science Behind FIT

There are now nine meta-analyses examining studies on the effects of feedback tools. We now have dozens of randomized trials documenting the impact of FIT.

In effect, one size does fit all. Using this feedback-informed method in my practice allows me to be evidence based across all my clients. And, more important, MyOutcomes is evidence based at the individual client-therapist level. Collecting client feedback monitors whether this therapeutic approach provided by me is benefiting you.

Watch my 48 minute interview on “The Science and Art of Feedback Informed Treatment (FIT)” by Juliet Austin & Clinton Power from the Mind Body Training Institute (MBTI).

Watch my 43 minute interview on “What Makes a Good Psychotherapist?” by Daniel Mintie from All Things CBT. As he says: “Spoiler alert! Decades of meta-analyses say the answer is neither “the type of therapy” nor “years of experience.” We discuss what the data says distinguishes therapists who reliably get better outcomes from their colleagues.

If you want your feedback to guide your therapy experience in an evidence-based way, call 0421 961 687 or email me to schedule an appointment. International callers should call +61 421 961 687.

Because FIT is therapy that listens to you and measures whether it’s helping, you deserve the best trained FIT coaches if you’re planning to invest time and money in your relationship. If you’re not ready to book an appointment, call us on 0421 961 687 to book a FREE 15 minute phone consultation to discuss how we may be able to assist you. Or see my three eBooks on Amazon.

Vivian Baruch provides relationship coaching, counselling, marriage counselling, sex therapy and clinical supervision online. She services the following areas in person: Penrith, Glenbrook, Blaxland, Springwood, Faulconbridge, Hazelbrook, Lawson, Wentworth Falls, Leura, Katoomba, Blackheath, Mt. Victoria, NSW. She also conducts couples intensive retreats in Faulconbridge & Sydney, NSW.