Routine Outcome Monitoring from Psychotherapists' Perspectives: A Framework Analysis Study of Expected Benefits and...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychotherapy Research
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Routine outcome monitoring (ROM) is crucial for effective psychotherapy, but therapist attitudes influence its implementation.
• Limited research exists on ROM expectations in Latin America, particularly in Ecuador.
• Understanding therapists' pre-implementation views is vital for successful ROM adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore psychotherapists' expected benefits and difficulties regarding ROM implementation in Ecuador.
• To identify key themes influencing therapist perspectives on ROM systems.
• To inform strategies for optimizing ROM adoption in university psychotherapy settings.

Main Methods:

• Exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional qualitative study.
• Semi-structured interviews with 20 psychotherapists (aged 21-47).
• Framework analysis methodology to identify themes in expectations.

Main Results:

• Therapists anticipated more benefits (e.g., improved information, process adaptation, professional development, patient empowerment) than difficulties (e.g., workload, technical issues, client discomfort, over-quantification).
• Expectations varied across institutional, therapeutic process, therapist, and client levels.
• Six overarching themes, 36 specific themes, and 82 subthemes were identified.

Conclusions:

• Psychotherapists generally hold positive expectations towards ROM, outweighing anticipated challenges.
• Recommendations are provided to support ROM implementation by addressing both positive and negative expectations.
• Findings offer insights for optimizing ROM in local and broader contexts.