Measurement-based care in psychology practice with veterans: Why we should and how we can

Veterans comprise approximately 23.4 million of the U.S. population. Many of these individuals face myriad mental health issues including, but not limited to, post traumatic stress disorder, major depression, traumatic brain injury, and substance use disorders. Moreover, suicidality rates among veterans has increased steadily since 2001. In response to these concerns, the national VA Healthcare System has sought to focus on the use of evidence-based treatments in the hopes of providing the most effective treatments. However, given the limited (and often shrinking) resources available to VA behavioral health providers, there is not only pressure to demonstrate effectiveness on an aggregate basis, but also on a case-to-case basis to ensure the resources being consumed are being used effectively and efficiently. To this end, VA mental health providers are tasked with examining outcome on a session-to-session basis to ensure treatment is working. The purpose of this paper, which is a review of the current state of the literature, is to examine the rationale and methods for the use of measurement-based care, and to provide recommendations for how this approach may be applied in practice.