Suitability and utility of the CORE-OM and CORE-A for assessing severity of presenting problems in psychological therapy services based in primary and secondary care settings.

BACKGROUND There is a need for reliable assessment tools that are suitable for the counselling and the psychological therapy services in primary and secondary care settings. AIMS To test the suitability and utility of the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) and CORE-Assessment (CORE-A) assessment tools. METHOD Service intake data were analysed from counselling and psychological therapy services in 32 primary care settings and 17 secondary care settings. RESULTS Completion rates exceeded 98% in both of the settings sampled. Intake severity levels were similar but secondary care patients were more likely to score above the risk cut-off and the severe threshold and to have experienced their problems for a greater duration. CONCLUSIONS The CORE-OM and CORE-A are suitable assessment tools that show small but logical differences between psychological therapy services in primary- and secondary-based care.