Measuring treatment outcome and client satisfaction among children and families.

As the delivery and reimbursement methods for mental health services change rapidly, measuring treatment outcome and client satisfaction has become critical. This article describes a case example of a treatment outcome and client satisfaction assessment program at the Children's Health Council, a private nonprofit agency affiliated with Stanford University that provides comprehensive mental health services to children and families in Palo Alto, California. Approximately 300 families receive mental health treatment per year at the agency. The simple and inexpensive program presented herein can be used and modified by other mental health professionals and agencies struggling to develop satisfactory treatment outcome and client satisfaction evaluation programs.