FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Joni Lownsdale
Heartland Publishing
5589 Guilford Road
Rockford, IL 61108
Phone: 815-229-8750 or 815-229-2559
Fax: 815-229-8750 E-mail:
Support@qpasslive.com
Website: Qpasslive.com

New Assessment Tool Provides “Psychological Vital Signs” for Psychotherapists

QPASS Measures Anger, Anxiety, Depression and Important Symptoms in About 10 Minutes

Rockford, Illinois March 19, 2007 – Have you ever noticed how much information your physician has about you before she even enters the exam room? All the information on her clipboard – vital signs, symptoms, and other important medical data – was collected in advance in order to maximize the limited time you have with your doctor. Now mental health professionals can have access to “psychological vital signs” at the start of each therapy session through a new 10-minute psychological test called QPASS: The Quick Psycho-Affective Symptoms Scan.

QPASS measures anger, anxiety, depression, and scans for “red flag” behaviors (such as alcohol and drug abuse) that therapists need to be aware of in order to help their clients. Test author Dr. Scott Lownsdale explains how he came up with the idea: “Facing the challenge of a busy counseling practice, I asked myself, ‘What if we therapists had data on clients’ “psychological vital signs” at the very start of each session?’ Immediately, I saw how a brief self-report measure of depression, anger, and anxiety — three important emotional dimensions of psychopathology — administered before sessions in the waiting area, could greatly reduce the time required for assessing clients, and provide more time for actual therapy. Moreover, it would offer a convenient way to track progress, screen for psychopathology, and provide symptom documentation in support of diagnoses and treatment interventions, which could have relevance to third party payers and therapist’s legal protection.” QPASS has been found to be an accurate measure not only of depression, anger and anxiety, but other constructs as well, such as global psychopathology, or overall psychological distress. QPASS is available only for use by mental health professionals and researchers. More information, such as QPASS’ psychometric properties is available at http://www.qpasslive.com .

There are a number of very good psychological tests measuring depression, anxiety, and anger already available – The Beck Depression Inventory, The Beck Anxiety Inventory and the STAXI, just to name a few. However, these instruments were developed independently from one another, requiring the therapist to assemble a lengthy, cumbersome and expensive test battery to fully assess these three emotional constructs for one client. QPASS measures all of these emotions and also provides data on an additional 22 psychiatric symptoms as an aid to therapists.

In addition to being accurate and thorough, QPASS also saves time and money. Taking the two Beck Inventories and STAXI requires about half an hour of testing and costs over $5.00. In comparison, QPASS measures all three constructs in about 10 minutes for only 69¢ per client. QPASS can be scored in only a few minutes by the therapist, so that results are immediately available.

Therapists using QPASS are excited about the new instrument. “QPASS is practical, easy to administer, and easy to score. Very useful in busy counseling practice settings!” says Dr. David Rising, Ed.D., Counseling Psychologist, Williamsport, PA. Joan Cook, Director of Phoenix Christian Counseling Associates, Phoenix, AZ has this to say about QPASS. “QPASS gives a quick picture of the impact of issues with new clients, and also picks up symptoms that are not always reported in face-to-face interviews. It is now a standard part of our intake process with every client.”

Dr. Scott Lownsdale is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in private practice in Rockford, Illinois since 1993. His articles have been published in the Journal of Personality Assessment and the Journal of Psychology & Theology.