Evaluation in clinical practice: Clinically sensitive and systematic methods of treatment delivery

The present paper makes the case for systematic assessment and evaluation in clinical practice. The purpose of systematic evaluation is to enhance client care and to improve the basis for drawing inferences about treatment and therapeutic change. Requirements of a methodology for clinical practice are outlined that begin with the priority of clinical care and patient improvement. Assessment, design, and data evaluation strategies as well as the processes they reflect in the context of clinical work are outlined. Ongoing assessment of client progress over the course of treatment is emphasized as the central feature of systematic evaluation. Implications of assessment for setting goals, specifying means, and making decisions to augment patient care are also presented and illustrated. Further work required to develop a methodology of clinical practice, common objections to systematic evaluation in clinical work, and professional issues that affect adoption of systematic evaluation are also presented.