Tracking Mental Health Outcomes : A Therapist's Guide to Measuring Client Progress, Analyzing Data, and Improving Your Practice

by Wiger, Donald E.; Solberg, Kenneth B.

• ISBN13: 9780471388753
• ISBN10: 0471388750
• Edition: Disk
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-03-30
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

A complete, step-by-step guide to tracking and documenting treatment outcomes Outcomes assessment has become an increasingly critical component of contemporary mental health practice, yet most therapists receive little or no training in accepted outcomes assessment and documentation methods. Tracking Mental Health Outcomes fills this gap, providing step-by-step guidance on choosing the best outcomes-tracking methods and instruments for your practice. You'll see how to integrate them into everyday clinical procedures and use the data they supply to improve the quality of care you provide as well as fully comply with insurance company and regulatory agency requirements. An indispensable working resource for mental health professionals, Tracking Mental Health Outcomes: * Describes both intraclient and normative approaches to outcomes assessment and how to integrate them into your practice * Uses DSM-IVTM as the standard reference point for assessing outcomes * Provides clear-cut examples of third-party payer requirements * Describes commercially available assessment instruments and how to use them * Features case examples illustrating how to perform and document outcomes assessment-from initial intake to termination * Supplies blank forms for recording and tracking outcomes data on the enclosed computer disk

Author Biography

DONALD E. WIGER, PhD, is a licensed practicing psychologist and the author of The Clinical Documentation Sourcebook, Second Edition and The Psychotherapy Documentation Primer, part of Wiley’s PracticePlanners® series.

Table of Contents

Quick Reference Guide to Sample Forms	ix
Preface	xi
I DEFINING MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES	1	(40)
Introduction and Historical Overview of Outcome Research and Assessment	3	(14)
Outcome as a Process
Outcome as Efficacy
Outcome as Effectiveness
Individual Outcome Assessment Sources of Data for Outcome Indicators
Incorporating the DSM-IV and Usual Clinical Procedures into Outcome Assessment
Summary
The Need for Outcome Assessment	17	(16)
Times are Changing
The Cyclical Feedback Process of Outcome Assessment
Concerns about Managed Care
Positive Aspects of Managed Care
Outcome Measures
Double Bind
Ethical Concerns
Summary
Individual and Normative Approaches to Outcome Assessment	33	(8)
Individualized Outcome Assessment
Normative Outcome Assessment
Integrating Individualized and Normative Approaches
Summary
II INDIVIDUALIZED OUTCOME ASSESSMENT	41	(98)
Measuring and Quantifying Ongoing Behaviors	43	(28)
Types of Data
Summary
Assessing Outcome Through the DSM-IV Interview and Intake Information	71	(32)
DSM-IV Symptoms and Impairments
Medical Necessity
Essential and Associated Symptoms in the DSM-IV
Integrating Outcome Measures and Usual Clinical Procedures
Intake Information
Summary
Assessing Outcome Using the Treatment Plan	103	(18)
Overview of Treatment Plan Writing
Incorporating the Treatment Plan in Outcome Assessment
Summary
Assessing Outcome Using Progress Notes and Ongoing Charting	121	(18)
Overview of Progress Note Writing
DAP Part 1: Data
DAP Part 2: Assessment
DAP Part 3: Plan
Keeping Track of the Data
Progress Charts
Charting Ordinal and Interval Data
Summary
III NORMATIVE OUTCOME ASSESSMENT	139	(78)
Defining Clinically Significant Change	141	(14)
Intake Assessment versus Outcome Assessment
Approaches to Assessing Client Change
Clinically Significant Change
Graphic Analysis of the Clinically Significant Change Model
Summary
Normative Data and Examples for Four Common Outcome Measures	155	(28)
The OQ-45
The SCL-90-R
The BDI
The BASIS-32
Summary
Selecting Standardized Outcome Measures	183	(12)
What Makes a Useful Outcome Measure?
Sources for Information about Standardized Measures
Additional Outcome Measures for Various Settings and Populations
Developing Your Own Normative Outcome Measures
Summary
Collecting and Analyzing Normative Outcome Data	195	(22)
Overall Strategies for Outcome Assessment Using Normative Measures
When and How Often to Assess
Implementation Issues
Determining the RCI: Selecting the Reliability Coefficient
Determining the RCI: Selecting the Standard Deviation
Determining the Cutoff for Clinically Significant Change
Data Analysis
Sources of Bias in Interpreting Change Scores
Summary
IV INTEGRATION	217	(12)
Integrating Individual and Normative Outcome Measures	219	(10)
An Analogy
Integrating Conflicting Results
Troubleshooting Discrepancies between Normative and Individual Outcome Measures
Summary
References	229	(8)
Appendix	237	(4)
Blank Forms	241	(40)
About the Authors	281	(2)
About the Disk	283