Controlled studies consistently show behavioral health has excellent outcomes with 80–90% of clients documenting reliable change.1 Outcome tools should approximate these benchmarks, yet uni–dimensional questionnaires will always fall short with heterogeneous, real–world patient samples. Here are some examples:
| LSQ2 | TOP–DEPRS3 | TOP–FULL3 | |
| Improvement | 20% | 54% | 91% |
| No change | 72% | 32% | 5% |
| Deterioration | 8% | 14% | 4% |
When nearly 90% of patients can show reliable improvement, why use a tool that shows only 20-30%?
1. Reliable Change (Jacobson & Truax, 1991) RCI = (X2 − X1)⁄SEDIFF SEDIFF = (2(SE)2)1⁄2 These figures are based on average success rates from randomized controlled trials in the literature and referenced on NIMH's website.
2. Developed by UBH, the LSQ is a 30–item short form of the OQ–45. Doucette, A. (2006) From Ordinal Observation to Linear Measurement, paper presented at the North American meeting of the Society for Psychotherapy Research. N>140,000
3. Kraus, D. R., Seligman, D, Jordan, J. R., (2005). Validation Of A Behavioral Health Treatment Outcome And Assessment Tool Designed for Naturalistic Settings: The Treatment Outcome Package. Journal of Clinical Psychology, Vol 61(3), 285-314. N>20,000