Student assessment of the value of client outcomes as a necessary part of a client outcome program evaluation

An exploratory study was conducted to determine graduate psychology students' knowledge of outcome assessments and to assess students' perceptions of the values and risks of using outcome measures with therapy clients. Thirty-one Clinical Psychology graduate students in the second, third or fourth practicum of the program completed an 18-item questionnaire concerning a number of issues related to the use of outcome measures with practicum clients; nine students in the second, third or fourth practicum were interviewed for more detailed information regarding their experiences and beliefs about outcome measures. All questions concerned one of four categories: general definitions, general value, student value, general risks and risks to students. Results of a one-sample chi-square test conducted for both gender and practicum year suggested the samples were similar to the entire graduate psychology population at Spalding University relative to these variables. When it comes to utilizing outcome measures, summary statistics determined students have a substantial amount of knowledge about general definition, general value and student value. However, students were found to lack significant knowledge in both of the risk categories, which may be one of the factors responsible for the lack of success in the Client Outcome Program. Gender was not found to be associated with any of the categories, and practicum year was found to be significantly related with the student value and student risk categories. Responses to one of the interview questions were coded as defensive and non-defensive, and the earlier practicum students had significantly more defensive responses than the later practicum students had. Implications of these findings are discussed.{09}The results of this study will be given to the Program Evaluation Committee. Further, specific recommendations were formulated, based especially on the responses to the interview questions.