Using Mental Health Outcome Measures in Everyday Clinical Practice

Objective: To examine clinicians’ use of Mental Health Outcomes and Assessment Tools (MH-OAT), standardized clinical measures that have been introduced in NSW. Method: Two separate studies are described, which examined the use of MH-OAT within two community child and family mental health service teams in Sydney. Results: It appears that clinicians are often not completing the clinicianrated measures and rarely were they requesting and/or following up clients to complete the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Further, while clinicians are reviewing the progress of their clients, they rarely use the MH-OAT data for this purpose. Conclusions: Clinicians’ lack of adherence to MH-OAT and use of MHOAT data are discussed in terms of passive resistance and their possible perception that the process is largely irrelevant to the care of their clients.