NEW PERSPECTIVES ON OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT - THE PHILOSOPHY AND APPLICATION OF THE SUBJECTIVE HEALTH PROCESS MODEL

In recent times, outcomes assessment has become an important pursuit t o better understand and manage the psychotherapy process. This article describes a new three-domain theory of health, the Subjective Health Process Model (SHPM), which can be readily applied for decision-suppor t and research purposes. The three primary domains are identified as c overing: (1) person-ecology, (2) coping, and (3) health. The person-ec ology domain contains the components of the personality system, eventf ul experience, and resources and skills. The coping domain addresses t he four components of adaptive functioning--cognitive appraisal, copin g strategy, cognitive reappraisal, and life functioning behaviors. The domain of health is operationalized to include both well-being and di stress as relatively separate outcomes. The article includes a descrip tion of an integrated family of instruments (the Clarity Health Assess ment System(TM)) designed to measure the components of the SHPM in mod ular fashion. Uses for the SHPM and the Clarity measurement tools are described.