Measuring outcome in professional practice: Considerations in selecting and using brief outcome instruments

Despite external pressures (e.g., quality assurance, therapist accountability) to measure outcome in psychotherapy, less than a third of clinicians choose to monitor outcome. A growing body of evidence suggests that monitoring patient progress can enhance patient outcome, particularly for patients who are at risk of not responding to treatment. To facilitate the adoption of routine assessment of patient outcome, recommendations for selecting an appropriate outcome instrument are suggested. In addition, procedures for implementing routine assessment of outcome and the use of outcome results are discussed.