Treatment utility of psychological assessment

This article focuses on treatment utility. A definition of treatment utility was provided by S. C. Hayes, R. O. Nelson, and R. B. Jarrett (1987): "We propose to use the phrase the treatment utility of assessment to refer to the degree to which assessment is shown to contribute to beneficial treatment outcome" (p. 963). Various methodologies to examine the treatment utility of assessment are summarized. Treatment utility studies using various assessment procedures (i.e., diagnosis and functional analysis) and various disorders (i.e., unipolar depression, social or interpersonal problems, and phobic disorders) are described. Suggestions are made as to when elaborated assessment and/or treatment utility studies are needed. Limitations on the generalizability of results of any particular treatment utility study are presented. Despite progress, for most assessment procedures and devices, the treatment utility question remains; What is the degree to which assessment is shown to contribute to beneficial treatment outcome?