ABSTRACT
T raditionally, it has been assumed that outpatient settings treat less severe forms of mental disorder among patients who come and go on a voluntary basis. However, the growth of community mental health agencies, such as those funded by Medicaid, has added more socioeconomic, ethnic, and clinical diversity to the population seen in outpatient mental health settings. In years past, patients with chronic and severe mental disorders spent most of their time in institutional or inpatient settings. Recent changes in the healthcare system have resulted in many of these patients now seeking help in outpatient clinics. Thus, accurate psychodiagnosis is essential in order to distribute treatment resources in the most efficacious manner. There is also a wider diversity of treatment modalities now offered within the same clinics, including pharmacotherapy. Care providers in contemporary outpatient settings vary greatly in the type and duration of their education and training. The outpatient clinic staff often includes mental health counselors and other paraprofessionals who have received varied amounts of formal training and who use a wide range of interventions.
