--- title: "PPRNet Clinical summary: Therapist Review of Client Symptoms Measures Before Each Session" description: The director of the Psychotherapy Practice Research Network (PPRNet) is Dr. Giorgio Tasca. Dr. Tasca is an Associate Professor with the School of Psychology, in the Faculty of Social, University of Ottawa. His research focus is on psychotherapy process, mechanisms of change, and outcomes, as well as eating disorders. image: https://collabzium.com/hubfs/chub_backup/therapy-1.png --- [![FAC_SOCIAL_SCIENCE_HEADER_BAR](https://collabzium.com/hubfs/FAC_SOCIAL_SCIENCE_HEADER_BAR.svg "FAC_SOCIAL_SCIENCE_HEADER_BAR")](https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-social-sciences/) [![Collabzium](https://collabzium.com/hubfs/CollabziumLogoEnglish(Name)-COLOUR.svg "Collabzium")](https://collabzium.com/) - Articles - [Collabzium Guide](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/author/collabzium-guide) - [All articles](https://collabzium.com/en/articles) - Research - [Chairs and Labs](https://collabzium.com/en/chair-and-labs) - [About](https://collabzium.com/collabcrew) [Subscribe](https://20500402.hubspotpagebuilder.com/subscribe-now) [Subscribe](https://20500402.hubspotpagebuilder.com/subscribe-now) [PPRNET](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/tag/pprnet) # PPRNet Clinical summary: Therapist Review of Client Symptoms Measures Before Each Session [Dr. Giorgio Tasca](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/author/dr-giorgio-tasca) calendar icon Dec 03, 2025 · Reading time 2 min read [mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://collabzium.com/en/articles/pprnet-clinical-summary-therapist-review-of-client-symptoms-measures-before-each-session&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email%20&body=Check%20out%20https://collabzium.com/en/articles/pprnet-clinical-summary-therapist-review-of-client-symptoms-measures-before-each-session&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://collabzium.com/en/articles/pprnet-clinical-summary-therapist-review-of-client-symptoms-measures-before-each-session&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email%20&body=Check%20out%20https://collabzium.com/en/articles/pprnet-clinical-summary-therapist-review-of-client-symptoms-measures-before-each-session&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email) Routine outcome monitoring ([ROM](https://trk.cp20.com/click/gs5t-2zqro3-921tl-l89bayk6/) ), also known as feedback-informed treatment or measurement-based care, involves systematically tracking patient progress during treatment using standardized measures and using this information to inform therapy. ROM is an effective approach in a variety of therapeutic orientations, settings, and clinical populations. ROM might focus therapists’ attention, provide new information, and enhance therapist-patient communication. But there have been challenges with implementing ROM in real-world practices, with therapists sometimes feeling micromanaged and patients sometimes feeling the process is [intrusive](https://trk.cp20.com/click/gs5t-2zqro3-921tm-l89bayk7/). Nevertheless, the [research](https://trk.cp20.com/click/gs5t-2zqro3-921tn-l89bayk8/) shows that ROM has positive effects on reducing patient symptoms. Why and how ROM works remains somewhat unknown. In this study, Li and colleagues asked why and how ROM works and examined three possibilities: **a session-to-session effect** (i.e., across therapists and patients, does a therapist getting feedback before a session affect the patient's outcome in the very next session?), **a patient effect** (i.e., regardless of the therapist, do clients have better outcomes if their therapist uses ROM when treating them?), or **a therapist effect** (i.e., across all their patients, do those therapists who consistently use ROM generally have patients with better outcomes?). Knowing this might help to improve the process and direct training efforts. Li and colleagues studied 26 therapist trainees who saw 456 clients, with each client completing outcome measures before each session, for an average of about 13 sessions. The researchers noted whether therapists accessed the feedback patient questionnaires before a session, after a session, or not at all. The researchers were able to separate out session, patient, and therapist effects. Despite being trained to use and interpret outcome feedback with ROM, only about 50.5% of therapists reviewed patient outcome data before a session, 27.4% reviewed it after a session, and 22.2% did not review it at all. The researchers found that therapists monitoring outcomes and receiving feedback before each session had a positive effect on patients’ symptoms from one session to the next (a session -to-session effect). Second, if a patient’s therapist reviewed all of that patient’s outcome scores before each session, that patient’s symptoms decreased significantly (a patient effect). Third, if the therapist across all their patients viewed 100% of the outcome scores before each session, that therapist’s patients, on average, had better outcomes (a therapist effect). Practice Implications  ROM improved outcomes at multiple levels. Reviewing outcome data improves symptoms from one session to the next across patients and therapists. A patient whose therapist regularly reviewed their outcomes had fewer symptoms. And therapists who used ROM regularly had patients who, on average, had better outcomes. These findings underscore the importance of closely monitoring and reviewing patients’ symptom changes before each session. > Li, X., Carney, J. J., Rousmaniere, T., Fineman, B., & Vaz, A. (2025). The “magic” of looking at that score: A multilevel investigation of therapist review of client symptom measures and client clinical outcome. *Journal of Counseling Psychology*. Advance online publication. [https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cou0000781](https://trk.cp20.com/click/gs5t-2zqro3-921to-l89bayk9/)  calendar icon Dec 03, 2025 · Reading time 2 min read [mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://collabzium.com/en/articles/pprnet-clinical-summary-therapist-review-of-client-symptoms-measures-before-each-session&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email%20&body=Check%20out%20https://collabzium.com/en/articles/pprnet-clinical-summary-therapist-review-of-client-symptoms-measures-before-each-session&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://collabzium.com/en/articles/pprnet-clinical-summary-therapist-review-of-client-symptoms-measures-before-each-session&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email%20&body=Check%20out%20https://collabzium.com/en/articles/pprnet-clinical-summary-therapist-review-of-client-symptoms-measures-before-each-session&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email) --- ### [By Dr. Giorgio Tasca](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/author/dr-giorgio-tasca) The director of the Psychotherapy Practice Research Network (PPRNet) is Dr. Giorgio Tasca. Dr. Tasca is an Associate Professor with the School of Psychology, in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa. His research is centered around psychotherapy process, mechanisms of change, and outcomes, as well as eating disorders. ## Also Read - [PPRNet Clinical summary: Long-Term Effects of Psychotherapies for Depression](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/pprnet-clinical-summary-long-term-effects-of-psychotherapies-for-depression) - [PPRNet Clinical summary: Self-Compassion as a Protective Factor Against Burnout in Psychologists](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/pprnet-clinical-summary-self-compassion-as-a-protective-factor-against-burnout-in-psychologists) - [PPRNet Clinical summary: The Therapeutic Alliance in Internet-Based Interventions](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/pprnet-clinical-summary-1.-the-therapeutic-alliance-in-internet-based-interventions) - [PPRNet Clinical summary: What Do Individuals With Borderline Personalities Want From Treatment?](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/pprnet-clinical-summary-what-do-individuals-with-borderline-personalities-want-from-treatment) #### RELATED NEWS ![PPRNet Clinical summary: Therapists Are Unable to Identify Patients Who Get Worse](https://collabzium.com/hs-fs/hubfs/iStock-1206150255-1.jpg?width=600&name=iStock-1206150255-1.jpg) [PPRNET](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/tag/pprnet) ## [PPRNet Clinical summary: Therapists Are Unable to Identify Patients Who Get Worse](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/clinical-summary-which-patients-benefit-most-from-being-matched-to-a-therapist-0-3-1-0-1-2-0-0-0-1) Psychotherapy is effective in helping patients to reduce their symptoms. However, approximately 5%... Dec 04, 2024Reading time 2 min read ![Clinical summary: Therapists Differ in Their Effectiveness](https://collabzium.com/hs-fs/hubfs/George%20Tasca-2.jpg?width=600&name=George%20Tasca-2.jpg) [PPRNET](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/tag/pprnet) ## [Clinical summary: Therapists Differ in Their Effectiveness](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/clinical-summary-therapists-differ-in-their-effectiveness) Researchers and clinicians have been talking for decades about therapist effects – that is, that... Jun 09, 2025Reading time 2 min read ![PPRNet Clinical summary: Individualized Patient-Reported Outcomes for Feedback in Psychotherapy](https://collabzium.com/hs-fs/hubfs/iStock-1206150255-1.jpg?width=600&name=iStock-1206150255-1.jpg) [PPRNET](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/tag/pprnet) ## [PPRNet Clinical summary: Individualized Patient-Reported Outcomes for Feedback in Psychotherapy](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/clinical-summary-which-patients-benefit-most-from-being-matched-to-a-therapist-0-3-1-0-1-2-0-0-0-1-1-2-1-0-0) [Routine outcome monitoring](https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1111%2Fcpsp.12268&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=2&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_SozpHQlYnPHz02a6klYsQBHVfzHFlT6G32qlxIMbjqAnPWRVM5-qG-jqha5kXLJWwFIRtS_thnOapFAMRSBttr_J8OA&_hsmi=2) (ROM) with clinical feedback to therapists is an important development... Feb 24, 2025Reading time 2 min read ![PPRNet Clinical summary: Barriers to Implementing Routine Outcome Monitoring](https://collabzium.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ban-question-marks.jpg?width=600&name=ban-question-marks.jpg) [PPRNET](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/tag/pprnet) ## [PPRNet Clinical summary: Barriers to Implementing Routine Outcome Monitoring](https://collabzium.com/en/articles/pprnet-clinical-summary-barriers-to-implementing-routine-outcome-monitoring)  Routine outcome monitoring ([ROM](https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2023.2181114)) is a method of systematically tracking treatment progress with... Mar 02, 2026Reading time 2 min read ![Collabzium Logo in White](https://collabzium.com/hubfs/Brand%20Images/Brand%20-%20Faculty%20of%20Social%20Sciences/CollabziumLogoEnglish(Icon)-WHITE.svg)   ##### CONTACT 120 University Ottawa ON K1N 6N5, Canada [Contact Us](mailto:collabz@uottawa.ca) ##### [AI CONTENT CREATION POLICY](https://collabzium.com/ai-artificial-intelligence-content-creation-policy-for-collabzium) ##### ##### SUBSCRIBE TO COLLABZIUM Want to stay in the loop? Subscribe to the Collabzium email list for updates, news, and more! [SUBSCRIBE](https://20500402.hubspotpagebuilder.com/subscribe-now) --- © 2026 COLLABZIUM [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/collabzium/) [Follow us on Facebook](https://youtube.com/@Collabzium) ↑