Evaluation of psychosocial treatments

The most widely chosen dimensions in the evaluation of psychosocial treatments are structure evaluation, process evaluation and outcome evaluation. The measurement of structure focuses on the inputs to a system intended for promoting mental health. The measurement of process shows how the inputs are used. And finally the measurement of outcome gives information about the effectiveness of the treatment in the terms of outcome. Five basic questions of outcome evaluation are: appropriateness, adequacy, effectiveness, efficiency and side effects of the treatment. Using these concepts this article analyzes different parts of the treatment process and their evaluation. The emphasis is on the problems of evaluation of psychotherapy research and especially on outcome research in psychotherapy.