Measuring Behavioral Health Outcomes »

Hawkins, Robert P. (West Virginia Univ); Matthews , Judy R. (Univ of Nebraska); Hamdan, Laureen (West Virginia Univ)

Here is an efficient guide to measuring and graphing behavioral outcomes, and letting the results influence clinical decisions. The authors, all clinical psychologists, describe how the `continuous' measurement of outcomes can document clinical results and provide practical methods for clinicians to routinely get and use credible, precise data. They provide numerous clinical examples that illustrate how behavioral health outcomes can be measured directly and simply.

John K. Larson

This is an eminently useful volume in the Child and Clinical Psychology Library series. This volume is intended to serve as a practical guide for the quantitative measurement of behaviors in children and the use of those measurements to assess clinical outcome. The primary audience includes psychotherapists at all levels of experience who desire a practical exploration of the topic. Psychiatric residents and other psychotherapy trainees will also find it an extremely useful and pragmatic introduction to outcome measurement. The book contains nine chapters, an abbreviated but useful reference section, and an appendix crammed with practical forms and graphs which can be photocopied and used by the clinician in daily practice. The first chapter serves as an excellent introduction to the topic of outcome measurement and sets the tone for the remainder of the book. In subsequent chapters specific practical and extremely useful discussions of various aspects of data collection are provided, including tips for defining, measuring, and evaluating target behaviors. The final chapter has four case examples. There are abundant diagrams and charts sprinkled throughout most every chapter. The authors' style is very readable and the material is eminently accessible. This volume is an extremely successful exploration of the practical application of outcome measurement. It is intended as a ""how to"" guide, so readers who desire a more scholarly treatise may look elsewhere. However, for an encouraging and useful guide the practicing psychotherapist or trainee need look no further.