Citation

Nelson SE, LaPlante DA, Peller AJ, Labrie RA, Caro G, Shaffer HJ. Adm. Policy Ment. Health 2007; 34(5): 489-493.

Affiliation

Division on Addictions, Cambridge Health Alliance, 101 Station Landing, 2nd Floor, Medford, MA 02155, USA. snelson@hms.harvard.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10488-007-0125-z

PMID

17487562

Abstract

Psychiatric comorbidity is common among patients in a variety of treatment settings, yet treatment providers seldom use standardized mental health assessments to identify these problems. Using standardized assessment tools gives practitioners and clients the opportunity to tailor treatment and aftercare efforts to a potential problem, and trains practitioners to provide valid and reliable measurements of mental health. Despite the benefits, there are barriers to implementing formal assessment tools. This paper discusses the barriers the authors encountered and the strategies they used to implement a standardized mental health assessment at a state-licensed Driving Under the Influence (DUI) offender treatment program.

Language: en