Outcome Monitoring in Psychotherapy: Current Status and Future Perspectives in Ibero-America

Abstract

Routine outcome monitoring in psychotherapy has advanced significantly in recent decades, especially in North America and Northern Europe. This practice consists of systematically assessing the progress of clients, with the aim of helping to improve clinical outcomes. This study aims to describe the current state of routine outcome monitoring research in Ibero-America, highlighting the main advances and challenges, and to propose future directions for development. The exploration of routine outcome monitoring in psychotherapy in the Iberoamerican region reveals that this practice is not yet widely adopted, with notable differences in its implementation between countries. Although studies on the topic have increased in the last decade, most of them have focused on adult populations. Based on the data collected, the challenges and difficulties as well as the possible facilitators and benefits of monitoring in psychotherapy are analysed, considering different levels: therapeutic, technological and socio-economic. We highlight importance of expanding research through international collaboration, the heterogeneity of approaches and populations, and the coordination between the vertexes of the triangle of therapists, researchers and managers of psychological care centres.