Which instrument is a brief self-report measure used to monitor psychotherapy outcomes?

• A. Outcome Questionnaire
• B. BASC
• C. ASEBA
• D. SCL-90-R

Answer: (A)

Monitoring psychotherapy outcomes relies on brief, self-report tools that can be given repeatedly to track change over time. The Outcome Questionnaire is designed exactly for that purpose. It’s a concise measure—typically around 45 items—that assesses key areas like symptom distress, interpersonal relations, and social role functioning. Because it’s focused on change over the course of treatment, it provides a global score and sensitivity to improvement or deterioration, which helps clinicians decide whether therapy is working, needs adjustment, or should be terminated. Its brevity and strong psychometric properties make it a practical routine progress-monitoring instrument in clinical practice.

The other instruments listed are broader assessment tools. BASC, ASEBA, and SCL-90-R offer wide-ranging information about behavior and symptoms, often across multiple contexts and timeframes, and they are generally longer or not specifically optimized for ongoing, quick progress monitoring. That's why they aren't the standard brief outcome-monitoring choice in psychotherapy.