Evidence-Based Assessment

Hunsley, John; Mash, Eric J.

doi:10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.3.022806.091419

Cited by 392 publications

(259 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…Research might be scarce, because the decision-making process as it is executed in child welfare and child protection is commonly not described well enough to examine its effects in an empirical study (Hunsley & Mash, 2007). In particular difficult to describe in decision-making methods and underexposed in empirical studies is the way practitioners should weigh information from multiple sources (interviewing, questionnaires and/or observation of parents, the child, social network and/or other practitioners) (Klein et al, 2005;Pelham et al, 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deciding on child maltreatment: A literature review on methods that improve decision-making

Bartelink

Yperen

Berge

2015

Child Abuse & Neglect

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Assessment and decision-making in child maltreatment cases is difficult. Practitioners face many uncertainties and obstacles during their assessment and decision-making process. Research exhibits shortcomings in this decision-making process. The purpose of this literature review is to identify and discuss methods to overcome these shortcomings. We conducted a systematic review of the published literature on decision-making using PsychINFO and MEDLINE from 2000 through May 2014. We included reviews and quantitative research studies that investigated methods aimed at improving professional decision-making on child abuse and neglect in child welfare and child protection. Although many researchers have published articles on decision-making including ideas and theories to improve professional decision-making, empirical research on these improvements is scarce. Available studies have shown promising results. Structured decision-making has created a greater child-centred and holistic approach that takes the child's family and environment into account, which has made practitioners work more systematically and improved the analysis of complex situations. However, this approach has not improved inter-rater agreement on decisions made. Shared decision-making may improve the participation of parents and children and the quality of decisions by taking client treatment preferences into account in addition to scientific evidence and clinical experience. A number of interesting developments appear in recent research literature; however, child welfare and child protection must find additional inspiration from other areas, e.g., mental health services, because research on decision-making processes in child welfare and child protection is still rare.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deciding on child maltreatment: A literature review on methods that improve decision-making

Bartelink

Yperen

Berge

2015

Child Abuse & Neglect

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“…However, no formal ratings of adherence were conducted. This study makes a contribution toward alleviating the remarkable scarcity of research on the extent to which clinical assessment improves treatment outcome (see also Hunsley & Mash, 2007, for a review) by comparing an evidence-based assessment model to a more general motivational pretreatment package. Treatment utility is often defined as improving treatment outcome, typically in terms of short-term symptomatic improvement.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Therapeutic assessment promotes treatment readiness but does not affect symptom change in patients with personality disorders: Findings from a randomized clinical trial.

Saeger¹,

Kamphuis²,

Finn³

et al. 2014

Psychological Assessment

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The field of clinical personality assessment is lacking in published empirical evidence regarding its treatment and clinical utility. This article reports on a randomized controlled clinical trial (N = 74) allocating patients awaiting treatment in a specialized clinic for personality disorders to either 4 sessions of (a) therapeutic assessment (TA) or (b) a structured goal-focused pretreatment intervention (GFPTI). In terms of short-term outcome, TA demonstrated superior ability to raise outcome expectancies and patient perceptions of progress toward treatment (Cohen's d = 0.65 and 0.56, respectively) and yielded higher satisfaction (d = 0.68). Moreover, patients reported marginally stronger alliance to the TA clinicians than to GFPT clinicians (d = 0.46), even though therapists perceived the alliance as equally positive in both groups. No differences in symptomatic ratings were observed. Results are discussed with reference to treatment utility in this particular patient group.

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“…After all, a registered professional might still choose to use human figure drawings or the Thematic Apperception Test as assessment tools despite knowing that the research offers little in the way of evidence supporting their validity or utility (cf. Hunsley & Mash, 2007). On the other hand, in its submission to the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada (i.e., "the Romanow Commission"), the Ontario Psychological Associafion (2001) took a much stronger stand on the essential need for EBP in psychological services by stating that "Treatments should be publicly-funded only when the efficacy of those treatments has been demonstrated by the best objective, scientific evidence available.…”

Section: Ebp and Professional Standards In Psychologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There have been clear improvements over the years in both the quality and quantity of assessment tools available for clinical use, and the assessment literature is replete with many hundreds of studies on the psychometric properties of these instruments. On the other hand, beyond evidence for the clinical utility of behaviourally based functional analytic assessment strategies (Haynes, Leisen, & Blaine, 1997), there are very few studies that examine whether the data resulting from psychological assessment activities enhance the provision and outcome of clinical services (Hunsley & Mash, 2007). A recent study by Lima et al (2005) is one of the few studies explicitly designed to assess the utility of an assessment instrument.…”

Section: Evaluating Evidence On the Provision Of Psychological Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The assessment of credibility: An analysis of truth and deception in a multiethnic environment.

Sabourin

2007

Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne

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Evidence-base practice (EBP) is now commonplace in many health care services and, in recent years, there has been a healthy debate about the role of EBP in psychology. In this article, I provide information on the nature of EBP and how it is consistent with professional training models and standards in psychology. In discussing some of the concerns that have been raised about the value of EBP in psychology, I present research fmdings on the relevance and potential impact of evidence-based assessment and treatment practices. Finally, after highlighting the promise of EBP, I offer some recommendations for how training efforts in professional psychology should be refocused in order to optimally prepare current and future psychologists to practice in an evidence-based manner.In the past decade, the promotion of an evidencebased approach to the practice of professional psychology has taken centre stage in most discussions about the nature and future of professional psychology. Developed within medicine, the evidence-based practice model is now being integrated into many health and human service systems, including mental and behavioural health care, social work, education, and criminal justice (Barlow, 2004;Mullen & Streiner, 2004). Leading experts in psychotherapy and mental health research have predicted that, by 2010, the use of evidence-based treatments will be required in health care systems and that practice guidelines will be a standard part of the delivery of psychotherapy services (Norcross, Hedges, & Prochaska, 2002). In this article, I examine the mounting evidence that supports the application of the principles of evidencebased practice (EBP) to the practice of professional psychology. Following a presentation of the nature of EBP and consideration of its fit with current professional standards in psychology, I will briefly examine some of the controversies surrounding the implemenCanadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 2007, 48:1, 32-42 tation of EBP in psychology before moving on to present research findings on the relevance and potential impact of evidence-based assessment and treatment practices. Having highlighted the promise of EBP in psychology, in a fmal section, I will offer some training recommendations aimed at ensuring that practicing professional psychologists, as well as those in graduate training, are competent to deliver the best scientifically informed health care services to the public. EBP and Professional Standards in PsychologyEBP involves the synthesis of information drawn from systematically collected data, clinical expertise, and patient preferences when considering health care options for patients (Institute of Medicine, 2001;Sackett, Rosenberg, Gray, Haynes, & Richardson, 1996), and emphasizes the critical importance of informing patients, based on the best available research evidence, about viable options for assessment, prevention, or intervention services. Therefore, in order to practice in an evidence-based manner, a health care professional must be familiar with the curren...

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Evidence-Based Assessment

Cited by 392 publications

References 82 publications

Deciding on child maltreatment: A literature review on methods that improve decision-making

Deciding on child maltreatment: A literature review on methods that improve decision-making

Therapeutic assessment promotes treatment readiness but does not affect symptom change in patients with personality disorders: Findings from a randomized clinical trial.

The assessment of credibility: An analysis of truth and deception in a multiethnic environment.

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