Outcome Measures and Evaluation in Counselling and Psychotherapy

In their new book Outcome Measures and Evaluation in Counselling and Psychotherapy, authors Chris Evans and Jo-anne Carlyle have pulled off a rare feat. In making some important statistical concepts accessible, presenting ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments for measurement in a balanced way, and leading the reader through a range of implementation scenarios, they have written the guide I wish I’d read twenty five years ago. In fact, they’ve written the book I wish I’d written myself. If you have no other guide to outcome measurement and evaluation in psychological therapy on your bookshelf, make sure you have this one.

This book is refreshingly pragmatic and undogmatic in its approach to outcome measures and evaluation, which is surprisingly rare. The authors pair their accessible and honest writing style with case illustrations and examples to really speak to practitioners who are engaging with outcome measurement at all levels: from the very early ‘inquisitive’ to the more experienced ‘implementer’.

What I really love about this book is the way it takes the reader on a journey from ‘why’ to ‘how’ outcome measures might be used and really encourages the reader to think about what will work for them in their own context. It isn’t prescriptive in that it tells you what you must collect, when and how, but gives the reader the appropriate tools – and identifies the benefits and drawbacks – to each approach. It very clearly acknowledges throughout that no single measure, or approach to evaluation, is going to be 100% perfect and that’s the reality of working with outcome measures!

I would highly recommend this book to trainees and experienced practitioners alike, as there really is something in there for everyone. Most importantly, I think this book captures something that is often missing in similar texts: an on-going encouragement of self-reflection and constructive criticism.