Faculty member is making data accessible to clinicians

Read about Dr. Rubio's interest in expressive arts therapy here.
Click here to see an example of Dr. Rubio's research.

“To be data effective, we need to be data reflective” notes Ritchie J. Rubio Ph.D., Full-time Faculty member in the Counseling Psychology program. Dr. Rubio’s "Data Reflection to Improve and Vitalize Effectiveness (DRIVE) Initiative" was recognized by the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Civic Innovation and DataSF at the 2nd annual Data and Innovation Awards on March 2, 2018. He and his team of data analysts, behavioral health directors, and clinicians at the San Francisco Department of Public Health were awarded in the Data Crunch and Munch category for going the extra mile to make sure their charts and data insights were meaningful via innovative workshop sessions designed to engage clinicians and counselors in data reflection.

Dr. Rubio describes his initiative as follows: “Many clinicians avoid data and statistics, or at least don’t find them meaningful to their clinical work. As such, I had to develop a new approach to data by integrating some clinical tools informed by Narrative and sandtray therapy. One process is to change the way we ask a question when looking at data. We encouraged clinicians in our system to look at visualized data as if it were a story board or a sandtray. Instead of asking, 'What do these numbers mean?' or 'What percent of clients improved?' We ask instead, 'What’s the story here?' or 'Where is the energy here?' or 'Where is the movement here?' This paradigm shift sits well with many clinicians and has improved the way they engage with data."


Click here to learn more about the Wright Institute’s Doctor of Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) program.
Click here to learn more about the Wright Institute’s Master of Counseling Psychology program.

Dr. Rubio (center) pictured with his teammates