INTRODUCTION TO THE STATE-OF-THE-ART REVIEW SERIES - RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS TO CLINICAL-ASSESSMENT

This paper introduces the theme for the five State-of-the-Art Reviews (SOARs) that follow. Clinical assessment is presented as an integral p art of any behavior therapy intervention. Seven components of assessme nt are outlined: initial diagnosis and assessment of the treatment con text and the client's internal resources, assessment as part of treatm ent planning, assessment as a method of monitoring treatment progress, and assessment as a method of making decisions about treatment comple tion and checking on maintenance of treatment gains. Following this in troduction, SOARs address assessment and treatment issues in the areas of substance abuse, panic, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating diso rders, and insomnia.