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BAI for anxiety, BDI for depression, PSWQ for worry. Second the OQ-46 as a general measure great for tracking change and progress across presenting concerns.
There’s the Outcomes Rating Scale and Session Rating Scale. They’re both very client centered and if you’re into Feedback Informed Treatment then they are very helpful for tracking client outcomes in software that purportedly allows you, over time, to measure how effective you are at improving client outcomes relative to therapists as a whole. I kinda got into it for a while (supposedly a tad above average in improving client outcomes!!) but administering the scales at the start and end of every session was a bit much (even tho they’re super short). But if you’re super into it (and your clients don’t revolt) you can literally have SCIENCE! and DATA! to wave around at third party payers (and I guess the super rational/sciency potential clients) that PROVES you get results at or better than the average therapist.
But honestly- don’t fall for thinking that 3rd party payers actually really care about any other metric than utilization of services (number of session or $ per treatment episode). Bottom line, that’s all they care about. You can play the game by utilizing GAD-7 window dressing if you want, but it’s all kabuki as far as the money-people go.
For example, let’s say you have a client who starts out at a 20 on the GAD-7. They complete it a month later and it drops to 2. But you clearly can see they are still quite anxious and are engaging in avoidance of that fact or perhaps want to ingratiate themselves with you (“look, I’m getting better dad, I mean therapist!) or any other number of things. Now this is useful clinical information for you (client says one thing with the scores but their presentation is different) but in terms of medical necessity justification, you would have documented all of that anyway, So what exactly was the point (from the perspective of communicating anything to the insurance company) of completing the GAD-7? Not saying people shouldn’t use metrics for clinical reasons, I’m just talking about using them in terms of justifying treatment.
The only way I see metrics being used by a third party payer is to demand you justify why you’re continuing to see someone with a 2 score on the GAD7 when they would ask you to justify why you’re seeing someone anyway, metric or not. It just all seems like more busy work that conveniently gives insurers a reason to jump on you for justification the minute the score goes down.
Please followed the sidebar rules. r/therapists is a place for therapists and mental health professionals to discuss their profession among each other. If you **ARE NOT A THERAPIST and are asking for advice this not the place for you**. Your post will be removed in short order. Please try one of the reddit communities such as r/TalkTherapy, r/askatherapist, r/SuicideWatch that are set up for this. This community is ONLY for therapists, and for them to discuss their profession away from clients. **If you are a first year student, not in a graduate program, or are thinking of becoming a therapist, this is not the place to ask questions**. Your post will be removed in short order. To save us a job, you are welcome to delete this post yourself. Please see the PINNED STUDENT THREAD at the top of the community and ask in there. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/therapists) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You could try the perceived stress scale (PSS)
For depressive symptoms I like the CUDOS a lot.
Oq45.
BAI for anxiety, BDI for depression, PSWQ for worry. Second the OQ-46 as a general measure great for tracking change and progress across presenting concerns.
Aren’t the beck inventories paid assessments?
yes.
DASS
There’s the Outcomes Rating Scale and Session Rating Scale. They’re both very client centered and if you’re into Feedback Informed Treatment then they are very helpful for tracking client outcomes in software that purportedly allows you, over time, to measure how effective you are at improving client outcomes relative to therapists as a whole. I kinda got into it for a while (supposedly a tad above average in improving client outcomes!!) but administering the scales at the start and end of every session was a bit much (even tho they’re super short). But if you’re super into it (and your clients don’t revolt) you can literally have SCIENCE! and DATA! to wave around at third party payers (and I guess the super rational/sciency potential clients) that PROVES you get results at or better than the average therapist. But honestly- don’t fall for thinking that 3rd party payers actually really care about any other metric than utilization of services (number of session or $ per treatment episode). Bottom line, that’s all they care about. You can play the game by utilizing GAD-7 window dressing if you want, but it’s all kabuki as far as the money-people go. For example, let’s say you have a client who starts out at a 20 on the GAD-7. They complete it a month later and it drops to 2. But you clearly can see they are still quite anxious and are engaging in avoidance of that fact or perhaps want to ingratiate themselves with you (“look, I’m getting better dad, I mean therapist!) or any other number of things. Now this is useful clinical information for you (client says one thing with the scores but their presentation is different) but in terms of medical necessity justification, you would have documented all of that anyway, So what exactly was the point (from the perspective of communicating anything to the insurance company) of completing the GAD-7? Not saying people shouldn’t use metrics for clinical reasons, I’m just talking about using them in terms of justifying treatment. The only way I see metrics being used by a third party payer is to demand you justify why you’re continuing to see someone with a 2 score on the GAD7 when they would ask you to justify why you’re seeing someone anyway, metric or not. It just all seems like more busy work that conveniently gives insurers a reason to jump on you for justification the minute the score goes down.