Measures for Clinical Practice: A Sourcebook

Today, as practitioners in all areas of the human services are increasingly held accountable for monitoring and evaluating their practices in an objective and efficient manner, a sound familiarity with objective measurement is more essential than ever before. In addition, practitioners must also be concerned with satisfying a dizzying array of state, agency, health maintenance organization, and insurance company guidelines. For more than twelve years, through two highly acclaimed editions and now in an updated and expanded third edition, Kevin Corcoran and Joel Fischer's standard reference, Measures for Clinical Practice, has enabled professionals to gather this vital information easily and effectively. In Measures for Clinical Practice, Volume 1: Couples, Families, and Children, and Volume 2: Adults, Corcoran and Fischer provide an extensive collection of more than 400rapid assessment instruments (RAIs), including many questionnaires and scales, which assess virtually any problem commonly encountered in clinical practice. Corcoran and Fischer have revised this edition to reflect new research and contemporary clinical practices. They include new scales and materials in areas such as assessment in culturally diverse populations and measurement in managed care systems, as well as the best instruments updated from the previous editions. Brief and easy to administer, these best practice measures will be useful for all types of therapeutic and theoretical orientations. All instruments are actually reprinted in the book, and are carefully introduced and evaluated to aid in their selection. Corcoran and Fischer explain the principles of measurement and how to apply them inpractice. They explore the range of assessment techniques available, including behavioral observations, rating scales, and client logs, as well as unobtrusive, electromechanical, and standardized measures. And after examining the advantages and disadvantages of rapid assessment instruments, they show practitioners how to effectively select and administer these measures as part of the treatment process. More comprehensive than ever, this edition of Measures for Clinical Practice is essential to every practitioner and student of social work, psychology, psychiatry, nursing, counseling, and the rehabilitative therapies.

Table of Contents:
v. 1. Couples, families, and children -- v. 2. Adults.

Review :
Bentson H. McFartland, M.D. Ph.D. "Community Mental Health Journal" Corcoran and Fischer's "must have" book on instruments you can really use in your practice is back....[P]ractitioners who wish to survive in the managed care environment need to demonstrate beneficial outcomes of their services. These volumes give you those survival tools.....Perhaps someday there will be an even bigger and better third edition. In the meantime, add these volumes to your library. Peter Salovey professor of psychology, Yale University, and author of " The Remembered Self" This revision of "Measures for Clinical Practice" provides a wealth of new information. Many additional useful scales can be found in these two volumes, with very helpful descriptions of their reliability and validity. These books should be found on the shelf of every clinical researcher in addition to clinical practitioners. Siri Jayaratne School of Social Work, University of Michigan A welcome addition....For many years, many of us teaching practice-research classes have compiled library lists containing a variety of instruments to be used in class and practice. This has been rather a painful endeavor. With this book, life will become much easier. I have no doubt that I will use it. Walter W. Hudson School of Social Work, Florida State University A much needed text...that will provide direct practice workers with an array of measures for use in monitoring and evaluating client progress and the effectiveness of social work intervention. Bentson H. McFartland, M.D. Ph.D."Community Mental Health Journal" Corcoran and Fischer's "must have" book on instruments you can really use in your practice is back....[P]ractitioners who wish to survive in the managed care environment need to demonstrate beneficial outcomes of their services. These volumes give you those survival tools.....Perhaps someday there will be an even bigger and better third edition. In the meantime, add these volumes to your library. Peter Saloveyprofessor of psychology, Yale University, and author of" The Remembered Self" This revision of "Measures for Clinical Practice" provides a wealth of new information. Many additional useful scales can be found in these two volumes, with very helpful descriptions of their reliability and validity. These books should be found on the shelf of every clinical researcher in addition to clinical practitioners. Siri JayaratneSchool of Social Work, University of Michigan A welcome addition....For many years, many of us teaching practice-research classes have compiled library lists containing a variety of instruments to be used in class and practice. This has been rather a painful endeavor. With this book, life will become much easier. I have no doubt that I will use it. Walter W. HudsonSchool of Social Work, Florida State University A much needed text...that will provide direct practice workers with an array of measures for use in monitoring and evaluating client progress and the effectiveness of social work intervention.