SELECTED INSTRUMENTS
FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY OUTCOME MEASUREMENT
The Table below is a selected list of instruments that may be used in psychotherapy research. This is not a
comprehensive list but does include many instruments that have been used in EMDR research. Sources of other
instruments include journals, publishing houses, as well as the following publications:
American Psychiatric Association (2000). Handbook of Psychiatric Measures. Washington D.C.: APA
*Antony, M., Orsillo, S. & Roemer, L. (2001). Practitioner’s Guide to Empirically
Based Measures of Anxiety. N.Y.: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Pub.
*Plake, B.S. & Spies, R. (2005). The Sixteenth Mental Measurements Yearbook, Buros Mental
Measurement Yearbook.
*Fischer, J. & Corcoran, K. (2007). Measures for Clinical Practice & Research, Vol 1 &
2, N.Y.: Oxford Universities Press.
*Stanford School of Medicine, Research Instruments Developed, Adapted or Used by the Stanford Patient
Education Research Center accessed July 21, 2009 http://patienteducation.stanford.edu/research/
Tool
Description
Reliability/Validity
Reference
Available
Beck Depression Inventory
(BDI-II)
21 item selfreport measure
of depressive
symptoms
Content, construct
& factorial validity;
reliability .86-.93
Beck, A., Steer, R., & Garbin, M.
(1988). Psychometric properties of
the Beck Depression Inventory:
Twenty-five years of evaluation.
Clinical Psychology Review 8 (1),
77-100.
Purchase from:
Harcourt Assessment,
Customer Service, P.O.
599700, San Antonio, TX
78259
Brief Depression Rating
Scale
(BDRS)
8 item therapist
rated observation
measure of
depressive
symptoms
Concurrent validity
.83; reliability .91.94
Kellner, R. (1986). The brief
depression rating scale, in N.
Sartorius & T. bain (eds.),
Assessment of Depression, 179-183.
N.Y.: Springer-Verlag.
Dr. Robert Kellner, Dept. of
Psychiatry, U. Mexico, 2400
Tucker, NE, NM 87131
Brief Resilience Coping
Scale
(BCRS)
4 items selfreport scale on a
5 point likert
scale measuring
perception of
resilient coping
Construct &
criterion validity;
new tool with
minimal reliability
.7
Sinclair, V. G., & Wallston, K.A.
(2004) The development and
psychometric evaluation of the Brief
Resilient Coping Scale. Assessment,
11 (1), 94-101.
In public domain but contact
Vaughn Sinclair, PhD, Prof of
Nursing,
Vanderbilt U.
vaughn.sinclair@vanderbilt.ed
u
Client Satisfaction
Questionnaire
18 item 4 point
likert scale to
measure client
satisfaction with
treatment
Good concurrent
validity; reliability
.86-.94
Dr. C. Attkisson, Prof. of
Med. Psychology, Dept. of
Psychiatry, box 33-C, UCSF,
S.F., CA 94143
Combat Exposure Scale
7 item measure
of wartime
stressors
experienced by
combatants
Good discriminate
validity; reliability
.85-.97
Larsen, D. Attkisson, C. &
Hargreaves, W. & Nguyen, T.
(1979). Assessment of client/patient
satisfaction: Development of a
general scale, Evaluation &
Planning, 2, 197-207.
Keane, T., Caddell, J. (1989).
Clinical evaluation of a measure to
assess combat exposure,
Psychological Assessment, 1, 53-55.
Dr. Terrence Keane, PTSD
Center (116B), V.A. Med.
Ctr., 150 So. Huntington Ave.,
Boston, MA 02130
Depression Scale
(CES-D)
20 item likert
self report scale
screening test for
depression
Validity construct
based on DSMIV;
reliability .85
internal consistency
Radloff, L.S. (1977) 'The CES-D
scale: A self report depression scale
for research in the general
population'. Applied Psychological
Measurement 1: 385-401.
In public domain
Dissociative Experiences
Scale
(DES)
28 item self
report to
measure
dissociation.
Construct validity;
reliability .79-.86
Bernstein, E. & Putnam, F. (1986).
Development, reliability, & validity
of a dissociation scale. Journal of
Nervous and Mental disease, 174,
727-735.
In public domain
Geriatric Depression Scale
(GDS)
30 yes/no items
self report to rate
depression in the
elderly.
Concurrent validity
.83; reliability .94
Yesavage, J., Brink, T., Rose, T.,
Leirer, V. (1983). Development and
validation of a geriatric depression
screening scale. Journal of
Psychiatric Research, 17, 37-49.
In public domain
Hamilton Rating Scale for
Depression
(HAM-D)
Clinician-rated
17 item checklist
of depressive
symptoms.
Concurrent validity
.8-.9; inter-rater
reliability .9 and
alpha .80-.92
Williams, J. (1988). A Structured
Interview Guide for the Hamilton
Depression Rating Scale," Archives
of General Psychiatry, American
Medical Association, 45 (8), pp. 742747.
In public domain
Health Resource
Utilization
4 items asking
numerical
information
about frequency
of health care
visits/use over
the past 6
months.
Test-retest
reliability .76-.97
Lorig K, Stewart A, Ritter P,
González V, Laurent D, & Lynch J,
Outcome Measures for Health
Education and other Health Care
Interventions. Thousand Oaks CA:
Sage Publications, 1996, pp.24-25.
In public domain
http://patienteducation.stanfor
d.edu/research/
utilization.html
Health Survey Short Forms
(SF-36 & SF-12)
2 self report
forms, one 36
items and the
other 12 items,
that measure
perceived
physical &
mental health
Excellent
concurrent,
construct &
discriminate
validity; reliability
.76-.93 with longer
form higher
Ware, J., Kosinski, M., & Keller, S.
(1994). SF-36 Physical & Mental
Health Summary scales: A user’s
manual. Boston: Medical Outcomes
Trust. (same authors) (1996). A 12item Short-Form Health Survey (SF12): Construction of scales and
preliminary tests of reliability &
validity. Medical care, 32, 220-233.
Medical Outcomes Trust, 20
Park Plaza, Suite 1014,
Boston, MA 021116
www.outcomes-trust.org
Hope Index
16 item self
report measure
of hope
Construct &
discriminant
validity; reliability
.78-.85
In public domain
Dr. Staats staats1@osu.edu
Impact of Events Scale-R
(IES)
22 item self
report likert
scale assessing
current
subjective
distress related
Staats, S., & Partlo, C. (1992). A
brief report on hope in peace & war,
and in good times & in bad, Social
Indicators Research, 24, 229-243.
Weiss, D.S. & Marmar, C.R. (1997).
The Impact of Event Scale-Revised.
In J.P. Wilson, & T. M. Keane
(Eds.), Assessing Psychological
Trauma and PTSD: A Practitioner's
Handbook. (pp. 399-411). New
In public domain
Email for copy of scale:
Daniel.Weiss@ucsf.edu]
to a specific
event for acute
stress.
Inventory of Interpersonal
Problems (IIP)
32 item selfreport likert
scale assessing
interpersonal
problems
Interpersonal Relationship
Inventory
(IPRI)
30 item selfreport 5 point
likert scale that
asks respondents
how they feel
about personal
relationships
Outcome Questionairre30/45
(OQ-45)
York: Guilford.
Weiss, D. S. (2004). The Impact of
Event Scale-Revised. In J. P. Wilson,
& T. M. Keane (Eds.), Assessing
psychological trauma and PTSD: A
practitioner's handbook (2nd ed., pp.
168-189). New York: Guilford Press.
Validity for longer
version 127 item
adequate;
convergent validity
with longer scale
.90; reliability .88.89
Content & construct
validity;
reliability >.80
Alden, L., Wiggins, J., Pincus, A.
(1990). Construction of circumplex
scales for the Inventory of
Interpersonal Problems. Journal of
Personality Assessment, 55, 521536.
Purchase from:
The Psychological
Corporation
555 Academic Court
San Antonio, TX 78204-2498
Tilden, V., Nelson, C., & May, B.
(1990). The IPR Inventory:
Development and psychometric
characteristics. Nursing Research, 19
(6), 337-343.
Contact vtilden@unmc.edu
30/45 item self
report designed
for repeated
measures of
symptoms/interp
ersonal/social
role functioning
9 item 4 point
likert sx scale
used in all
settings to screen
for depression
Content &
Construct validity;
Whipple, J., & Lambert, M. (2011)
Outcomes measures for practice.
Annual Review of Clinical
Psychology, 7, 87-111.
http://www.oqmeasures.com
Construct &
criterion validity;
reliability .89
In public domain
available at
http://www.depressionprimarycare.org/clinicians/too
lkits/materials/forms/phq9/
Personality Health Index
(PHI)
Assessment of
personality
functioning as a
measure of
effectiveness of
psychotherapy
Content & construct
validity; reliability
Primary Care PTSD
Screen (PC-PTSD)
4 item screen for
primary care &
medical settings.
Construct & content
validity not for
severity but as a
screening measure
Reliability .84
Posttraumatic Growth
Inventory
(PTGI)
21 item selfreport asks what
has changed
since crisis with
5 subscales on a
6 point likert
scale
Construct validity;
reliability .71- .90
Martime, A., Reif, W., Klaiberg, A.,
Braehler, E. (2005). Brief patient
health questionnaire mood scale
(PHQ-9) in the general population.
General Hospital Psychiatry, 28, 7177.
Waldron, S. Moscovitz, S., Lundin,
J., Helm, F., Jemerin, J., & Gorman,
B., (2011). Evaluating the outcomes
of psychotherapies: The Personality
Health Index.
Psychoanalytic Psychology, Vol
28(3), 363-388.
Kimerling, R., Ouimette, P., Prins,
A. et al. (2006) Brief report: Utility
of a short screening scale for DSMIV PTSD in Primary Care. Journal
General Internal Medicine, 21(1), 6567.
Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G.
(1996). The Posttraumatic Growth
Inventory: Measuring the positive
legacy of trauma. Journal of
Traumatic Stress, 9, 455-472.
Patient Health
Questionnaire (PHQ-9)
http://www.mirecc.va.gov/doc
s/visn6/2_Primary_Care_PTS
D_Screen.pdf
In public domain
http://abilitycoach.com/disabil
ity/ch04.html
PTSD Checklist
(PCL)
17 item selfreport likert
scale assessing
symptoms of
PTSD. There is a
civilian, military
and specific
version with the
latter focusing
on a particular
event.
Convergent &
concurrent validity;
reliability .96-.97
Weathers, F., Litz, B., Herman, D.,
Huska, J., & Keane, T. (1993). The
PTSD Checklist (PCL): Reliability,
validity, and diagnostic utility. Paper
presented at the annual meeting of
the Int. Soc. for Traumatic Stress
studies, San Antonio, TX.
In public domain
http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/nc
main/
assessment/assessmt_request_
form.html
Remoralization Scale (RS)
12 items with 4
point likert scale
assessing degree
to which morale
has been
restored
Construct,
discriminant, &
predictive validity ;
Reliability .89-.92
Contact w.vissers@acsw.ru.nl
Sense of Belonging
Instrument
18 item selfreport
questionnaire
with respondents
rating sense of
connection to
others on a likert
scale
Content & construct
validity; reliability
test-retest .88
Vissers, Wiede; Keijsers, Ger. P. J.;
van der Veld, William M.; de Jong,
Cor A. J.; Hutschemaekers, Giel J.
M.
Development of the Remoralization
Scale: An extension of contemporary
psychotherapy outcome
measurement.
European Journal of Psychological
Assessment, Vol 26(4), 2010, 293301.
Hagerty, B. & Patusky, K. (1995).
Developing a measure of sense of
belonging. Nursing Research, 4 (1),
9-13.
Short Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder Rating
Interview (SPRINT)
8 items on a 5
point likert scale
measuring sx
severity +
improvement
since tx.
90 item single
page self-report
likert screening
tool designed to
measure
symptoms of
psychopathology
Convergent &
construct validity;
reliability .78-.88
Conner, K. & Davidson, J. (2001).
SPRINT: A brief global assessment
of post-traumatic stress disorder
Scale included in article.
Convergent validity
.89 with MMPI;
internal consistency
reliability .89
SCL-90-R, Brief Symptom
Inventory, and matching clinical
rating scales, in Psychological
Testing, Treatment Planning, and
Outcome assessment, edited by
Marush, M. N.Y.: Erlbaum.
Purchase from:
National Computer Systems
P.O. Box 416
Minneapolis, MN 55440
www.ncs.com
20 item self
report with a 4point likert
scale; 2 forms
with STAI-1 for
state anxiety &
STAI-2 for trait
anxiety.
PHI/RADIO
derived from the
Good convergent
validity; reliability
Spielberger, C.D. (1977). State-Trait
Anxiety Inventory manual. Palo
Alto, CA: Mind Garden
Purchase from:
Mind Garden, 855 Oak Grove
Ave.,
Ste 215, Menlo Park, CA
94025
Construct validity;
test-retest reliability
Waldron, S., Lundin, J., Jemerin, J.
et al (2011). Evaluating the outcomes
woodywald@earthlink.net
Symptom Checklist-90Revised (SLC-90-R)
State-Trait Anxiety
Inventory
(STAI)
The Personality Health
Index (PHI)
Contact bmkh@umich.edu
Shedler-Westen
Assessment procedure
(SWAP-II)
kwheeler
8/2012
SWAP (see
below) as a
subset to assess
changes in
personality
Clinician Q sort
rating 200 item
psychological
health/pathology
.85
of psychotherapies: The PHI.
Psychoanalytic Psychology, 28(3),
363-388.
Content & construct
validity; reliability
.85
Shedler, J., & Westen, D. (2007).
The Shedler–Westen Assessment
Procedure (SWAP): Making
personality diagnosis clinically
meaningful. Journal of Personality
Assessment, 89, 41–55.
www.SWAPassessment.org
where you will be
able to access information
about the SWAP instrument
and also download a
trial copy of the SWAP
software (functional for 30
days). If this is
unfunded research and you
don't have funds for the
annual license fee (or if
you need multiple copies for
data collection), you may be
eligible for an
education license fee waiver,
in which case we'd just ask
for a voluntary
donation of whatever amount
you can pay.