Internet-Based Approaches to Collaborative Therapeutic Assessment: New Opportunities for Professional Psychologists

Collaborative (or therapeutic) assessment is an empirically supported procedure that involves the client as an active participant in the assessment process. Clients discuss data they provide with the assessor in a collaborative manner designed to provide insights and assist in setting mutually agreeable treatment goals. Internet-based procedures allow for ongoing (including daily) tracking of psychological variables and provision of immediate graphic feedback to therapists, clients, and clinical supervisors. As an example, we describe one such system: Evidence-Based Assessment System for Clinicians (EAS-C) that contains more than 30 brief and empirically validated assessment instruments that can be completed via the internet or smartphone. We also provide examples from a stress management intervention demonstrating how single-client data from a web-based daily stress and coping diary tied to the EAS-C were utilized to provide clients with individualized feedback, assess progress, identify idiographic patterns of cognitions, affect, and coping strategies, and test clinical hypotheses. Internet- and computer-based technological advances can improve service delivery and help bridge the gap that currently exists between science and practice.