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Understand Measurement Philosophy

Learn the major philosophical traditions defining measurement

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Enhance Clinical Practice

Discover why measurement philosophy choice is crucial for clinicians

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Insights Into Client-Unique Measures

Recognize strengths and limitations of validated and client-centered measures

About the Course

Measurement is a bedrock of behavioral health practice. Numerical measures add precision and regularity to care. However, behavioral health providers often feel insufficiently trained in its theory and practice. This course fills the gap. Learn about the underlying philosophy of measurement, how it can enhance care, and how it can be client-centered, collaborative, and non-burdensome on the service process.

Meet Your Instructor

Hi, I'm Dr. Shane Sparkes. I'm a psychotherapist with a PhD in Biostatistics. I bring over twelve years of experience in behavioral health to this course. I've worked as a clinician providing intensive wrap-around services to individuals who experience high acuity behavioral health disorders in complicated, field-based settings. I have a passion for measurement. However, I also personally understand how unnatural and burdensome it can be when it is implemented without due care to the needs of the clinical process. Help me guide measurement-based care away from the perfunctory needs of programs and back to what is most important: the well-being of the client.

Course Curriculum

6 Chapters · 35 Lessons

  1. 1

    Chapter 1: Introduction to Measurement

    1. 1.1: A Fundamental Question Free preview
    2. 1.2: Measurement Beyond Numbers Free preview
    3. (Included in full purchase)

      1.3: Why Philosophy Matters for Practice

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      1.4: Objects, Measurands, Units, and Scales

    5. (Included in full purchase)

      Assignment 1: Identify Your Measurement Components

    6. (Included in full purchase)

      Practice Quiz

  2. 2

    Chapter 2: Four Schools of Measurement

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Introduction

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      2.1: Measurement as Operational Assignment

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      2.2: Measurement as Objective Discovery

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      2.3: Measurement as Order-Preserving Representation

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      2.4: Measurement as Pragmatic

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      2.5: Comparing the Four Schools

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      Assignment 2: Revisit Your Score

    8. (Included in full purchase)

      Practice Quiz

  3. 3

    Chapter 3: Validity and Its Limits

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Introduction

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      3.1: What Validation Actually Provides

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      3.2: Idiographic Scales and the Problem of Populations

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      3.3: Dangers of Validated Measurement in Care

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      Assignment 3: Measurement in Practice

    6. (Included in full purchase)

      Practice Quiz

  4. 4

    Chapter 4: Preserving Lived Experience

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Introduction

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      4.1: Empirical Relational Systems

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      4.2: What Order-Preservation Means

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      4.3: Using Total Orders to Translate Experience into Additive Measures

    5. (Included in full purchase)

      Assignment 4: Translation in Practice

    6. (Included in full purchase)

      Practice Quiz

  5. 5

    Chapter 5: Integrating Measurement into Practice

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Introduction

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      5.1: Numbers Are Dead Things

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      5.2: Measures as Scaffolds, Not Substitutes

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      5.3: Toward a Mature Clinical Orientation

    5. (Included in full purchase)

      Assignment 5: Final Reflection

    6. (Included in full purchase)

      Practice Quiz

  6. 6

    Conclusion

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Course Exam

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      References and Additional Reading

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      Book a Free Consultation

Ready to Transform Your Clinical Practice?

Enroll now and unlock the power of measurement in behavioral health

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