ABSTRACT
It has long been recognized in psychiatric research that measuring symptom severity across time is helpful in evaluating the course of treatment for psychiatric conditions. For example, all published clinical trials involve measuring outcome by means of scales focused on symptoms of interest. Rating symptoms is also an essential feature of newer psychological treatments such as cognitive-behavioural therapy. Yet, the use of assessment scales has not historically been a routine aspect of patient care for frontline mental health clinicians. In part, this may be due to the influence of psychodynamic psychotherapy, where the understanding of the patient was based primarily on understanding individual traits and where symptoms were only recognized as part of an underlying conflict or dynamic. It may also be because many clinicians (especially physicians, nurses, and social workers) are not trained in the use of assessment scales. Additionally, the nature of clinical practice with the pressure of high patient flow makes it difficult to incorporate yet more tasks into every patient encounter.
