Rickter
Scale®
training offers the Intowork Team a new way to measure
and value soft indicators.
Soft indicators such as
confidence and self-esteem can be extremely difficult for
projects and service providers to quantify or measure.
So when the Intowork team
heard about training on the Rickter
Scale®, a way
to measure soft indicators, they jumped at the
chance.
The
Rickter
Scale® has
been designed to frame questions so that a clear visual
picture can be formed and progress can be measured in a
more tangible way. Resembling an abacus, the scale has
large sliders which can be moved from 0 - 10 to indicate
how the user feels about a particular subject.
Giving the user control
to answer the questions based on their own feelings, and
then being able to produce a visual picture of their
progress, both motivates and empowers users. Through
conversation with the practitioner, users are encouraged
to look at their answers, identify strategies that have
been successful in the past, and apply these to their
current situation
Other groups who have
implemented the Rickter
Scale® reported
that users enjoyed being able to visually chart their
progress in certain areas.
"People feel more
comfortable because they actually use the tool
themselves, they can operate the scales" says Employment
Development Officer Neil McLeary, who attended the
training session. "This allows the client to participate
more fully in their assessment, and view their results in
a more quantitative way."
Colleague, Jim Campbell
agrees "It takes the focus away from an interview
scenario. The client is able to focus on the board rather
than face to face contact. They feel in control of the
situation and the way in which they answer."
Intowork West Lothian are
one of the forerunners within West Lothian to investigate
the Rickter Scale, and four members of the team are now
registered practitioners. "I think it will prove to be a
very powerful assessment tool," says Co-ordinator, Anne
Reid.
"It is flexible so that
we can tailor it to suit our clients and services, and it
will allow our clients to see how much they have
progressed in areas that are otherwise very difficult to
assess."
First published in
Insight, Intowork West Lothian Newsletter, Summer
2002 - www.intowork.org.uk
Casestudy
1
The Practitioner
concerned has only used the scale once, but with very
positive results. He sees the clients pre-court, and this
acts as a 'final warning' before they get into more
serious trouble.
The Practitioner used the
Rickter
Scale® with
one client who was involved in a large theft. It
transpired via the use of the scale that she had major
issues with her family, boyfriend and school. Previously
she had been a very uncommunicative young lady, but the
Rickter
Scale® really
'brought her out of her shell and created a talking
space'.
The outcome of this case
has been that this girl is due to be 'cut loose' this
week and has hopefully transformed from the client with
low self-esteem that she was initially. A
Rickter
Scale® review
is to be carried out next week prior to her leaving.
The Practitioner states
that the Rickter
Scale® has
definitely had a real impact in this particular case. He
likes that it is a really physical presence and offers
the clients themselves a purpose during the
interview.
Casestudy
2
This Practitioner used
the Rickter
Scale® with a
Client who had a learning disability and was epileptic.
The Client on arrival made no eye contact and he chose to
communicate very little. His mother did most of the
talking for him, but after some persuasion he did agree
to another appointment. Arrangements were made for the
Client to come back by himself.
Immediately the Client
took the board into his hands, he sat up, and gave his
attention to it. From undertaking the scale an Action
Plan was agreed with the Client. He identified his main
goal was to have his own living space and make choices.
We talked about how he could do this and he suggested
that he would need to be employed and earn money to live
independently.
On discussion he
recognised that he needed training and experience within
a working environment. A placement within retail was
sought and secured as this was his chosen area of
employment. It was agreed that he would initially try
this for six weeks.
This placement was
regularly monitored, with both the Client and the
Employer giving input to training and support needs. It
continued for a period of six months at which point the
Rickter
Scale® review
was carried out. The Client gained experience and started
to apply for work on the open labour market. He wanted to
move, not just away from home, but away from the area and
felt confident enough to voice his opinion and to put
into action his wishes. His parents had friends in
another region of Scotland and agreed that he could go
there if he could find a job, and that he would accept
help from the family friends if he needed it. The Client
successfully secured employment and he got his own flat.
He also supported a friend with similar disabilities to
come and share the flat and gain employment.
A year has passed during
which the Client has changed his employer increasing his
wages and experience and has become a valued member of
the staff team.
Most importantly he has
achieved his goal and is living independently. His social
skills have grown and he has made friends within this new
community.
Nan Wood, (Former) Employment Development Organiser,
Hope Service
Casestudy
3
This Practitioner has
been using the scale regularly. She had a particularly
successful experience with a young girl who had been
refusing to eat for three weeks.
The Client started to see
connections between her acts of attempted control through
not eating, and her unhappiness and now realises there
are other ways in which she can take control. This will
hopefully allow her to improve her health and move
forward.
Casestudy
4
One particular client
found it very hard to come out and say what she felt.
After a Rickter
Scale®
Practitioner had used the board with her on a previous
meeting, she met up with her again and tried to chat but
the client then actually asked if they could use the
board again. This resulted in them communicating much
more easily about deeper issues. The client is now much
more open and finds it easier to communicate
freely.
Casestudy
5
I attended your Rickter
training on 20 December (Connexions Tees Valley) and I am
pleased to say I have now had a few goes with the board
with different clients and thought you may be interested
to hear the results of one particular case.
I have been working for
some time with a lad who has had loads of issues to deal
with. He was evicted from home because he had problems
with alcohol and when he had been drinking would become
violent. To cut a long story short, it turned out he had
been sexually assaulted in an extremely violent way and
as a result had turned to alcohol (he couldn't face
admitting to anybody about what had happened and only
opened up to me after several sessions).
He is now back home and
the abuser has been arrested and his mum and dad now know
what had been going on. Over the last couple of months
I've managed to get him secured in training etc so I
decided to do Rickter with him last week so he could see
for himself how far he has moved on.
I also wanted to do
Rickter with his parents (with the lad present) to see
where they felt HE was at. I wasn't sure if it would
work, but I am delighted to say it did. I did a home
visit on Tuesday night with the lad and both parents. I
explained what it was all about and had the lad's results
from last week with me. It opened up all kinds of
discussion and made them all aware of each others
feelings. His parents had not realised what he had been
dealing with and how depressed he had been, but equally
the young lad had not realised how his alcohol abuse and
violence were affecting his family. We ended up in
discussion around the issues on the Rickter board for
about an hour. It ended in such a positive way and I do
believe that they all benefited from it.
I have reported the
results back to my line manager and she has asked me to
feed this back to our office at the next meeting so that
hopefully it will help with confidence for other Personal
Advisers when they start using it.
I am really impressed
with the Rickter Scale. Its' simplicity helps put the
clients at ease and all the young people I have done this
with have gone away feeling much more positive. My work
tends to be intensive support with clients who have been
abused or suffered with depression and anxiety issues. I
have attended a lot of counselling and motivational
training and by using what I have learned through them
together with the Rickter I feel confident that I will be
able to help these young people much more effectively.
Thank you. It was a great session.
Kerry Dawson, Personal
Adviser, Connexions Tees Valley
Casestudy
6
This Practitioner has
been using the scale regularly and found it really helped
with a Client who was difficult, in that he was always
very negative and completely lacked
motivation.
The Practitioner was
impressed with the Rickter
Scale®'s
strong focus on happiness and confidence, - which were
central to this particular young clients problems. The
end result is that the client engaged with the Rickter
process very well and it has helped him enormously.
Casestudy
7
"Dave", 21, was homeless
and long-term unemployed. He had a number of personal
issues that were holding him back. He was referred to the
Cyrenian City Community and moved on to private rented
accommodation, as part of the Cyrenians Rent and Deposit
Guarantee Scheme. Throughout this time he was able to
access support through the ETE team. Initially Dave was
referred to Venture Scotland, attending a number of team
leadership courses and was part of their Millennium
Volunteer programme. Following this and after discussion
with a Cyrenian ETE worker, he started a communications
course at his local college.
"The personal development
board (the Rickter
Scale®) gave
me a chance to look at myself and to prioritise things in
my life…. You have really helped me in getting
motivated for college and to change certain aspects of my
life for the better."
Since then he has
successfully moved onto a placement with 'Standard Life'
as part of their 'Work Life' programme. This enables
homeless agencies to nominate people who are committed to
starting work but who do not have any formal
qualifications or previous experience. This excellent
opportunity is for six months.
Edinburgh Cyrenians
Website: www.cyrenians.org.uk
email
us:
rickter@mdaa.org.au
call
us: (02) 9891
6400
Rickter
Scale® Feedback and Articles