Mental Health Outcome Evaluation

David Speer (Ph.D., University of Minnesota) is an associate professor and clinical research psychologist at the Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida in Tampa. His duties include consultation, education, and training services to the public mental health system for older adults, grant writing, and clinical research. Before coming to Tampa, Dr. Speer was a Post Doctoral Fellow at the University of Notre Dame from 1986 to 1988 and was an executive director of the Northeastern Center (a CMHC) in Kendallville, Indiana from 1982 to 1986. He has also served in executive positions at the Quinco Consulting Center in Columbus, Indiana and the Erie County Suicide Prevention and Crisis Services in Buffalo, New York. He has authored or co-authored 45 journal publications and is the editor of Nonverbal Communication, Sage (1972).

"David Speer shows how evaluation methods can be used to assess the quality and effectiveness of mental health services. He concisely presents the rationale and key concepts underlying descriptive outcome studies. He anticipates reader's questions, offers clear and useful explanations, and provides both wisdom and practical advice." --RUDOLF H. MOOS, Department of Veterans Affairs and Stanford University, Palo Alto, California"In the absence of information about quality of care, mental health policy makers have had to make decisions about the allocation of services solely based on costs. This book demystifies the world of empirical research and provides a comprehensive, user-friendly framework for understanding the clinical and policy implications of scientific evidence. At long last, it is possible to use relevant clinical information for evaluating the treatment of our patients and for guiding the delivery of mental health services." --KENNETH I. HOWARD, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois."This book demystifies the world of empirical research and provides a comprehensive, user-friendly framework for understanding the clinical and policy implications of scientific evidence. At long last, it is possible to use relevant clinical information for evaluating the treatment of our patients and for guiding the delivery of mental health services." --KENNETH I. HOWARD, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois"David Speer's book is a useful primer in the application of outcomes to the evaluation of service effectiveness...This book is a useful guide to individuals who wish to become involved in the evaluation of service effectiveness. It provides the basics in a readable, concise fashion. It provides a useful and informed discussion about issues with regard to sampling and design...I would recommend this book for clinicians and administrators who are becoming involved in the process of assessing service effectiveness." --JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES & RESEARCH, John S. Lyons, Ph.D., Northwestern University Medical School, February 1999"Speer's unique combination of practical evaluation experience and analytic sophistication, along with a clear and engaging writing style, results in a primer that is currently one of the best available on the topic of outcome evaluation. The book is relatively free of research jargon from beginning to end, making it accessible to its intended audience of practitioners, administrators, and policy makers." --Mark S. Salzer, Ph.D., in June 1999 issue of Psychiatric Services"This slim volume packs a lot of information and insight into its 118 pages... Speer offers many good suggestions and keen insights." --THE JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHIATRY

• Why Evaluate Mental Health Service Outcomes?A Different Perspective: Practical Outcome EvaluationSo, How Do We Tell if Something Works?What Should Be Measured? IssuesWhat Should Be Measured? InstrumentsPotential Booby Traps and LandminesPractical Implementation Issues and SuggestionsIn Conclusion, Shouldn't Everybody Evaluate Outcomes? (and Other Loose Ends)