How to Introduce the Concept of Progress Measurement

Communicating the concept of progress measurement is an important part of introducing Greenspace to patients and involves a therapeutic element. Earning patient acceptance increases engagement and completion of assessments, which will make this program more beneficial to both you and your patients. 

We have three primary recommendations when introducing progress measurement to patients:

• Explain what a measurement process is
• Explain the purpose of implementing an ongoing measurement process.
• Explain how Greenspace works and how to get started.

1. Explain what a measurement process is

• A measurement process is where the patient will complete questionnaires on a consistent basis throughout the course of their treatment. These questionnaires ask about symptoms that are likely relevant to or a result of the patient’s mental health issues.
  • For example, a questionnaire might measure a patient’s depression severity, and will therefore ask questions about the various depressive symptoms that might be experienced.
• These questionnaires have been developed through medical research, and are proven to effectively measure patient symptom levels.
• All questionnaires that the patient will be asked to complete are between 4 and 20 questions.
• Both the patient and therapist will view the results of questionnaires and progress over time.

2. Explain the purpose of measuring progress

• The main reason why a measurement process is being put into place is that it is proven to improve a patient’s treatment outcomes. Extensive medical research supports this.
• This process will provide the therapist with more feedback and information about a patient’s progress throughout therapy. This helps a therapist make better decisions about treatment and detect changes in patient health more quickly.
• This process will also provide the patient with more information about their treatment process. Patients will be able to clearly see what symptoms are relevant to their mental health issue, and track their progress towards reducing the severity of those symptoms.

3. Explain how Greenspace works and how to get started

• Greenspace is a completely secure and privacy-compliant electronic platform that allows therapists and their patients to easily follow a measurement process.
• The therapist will select which questionnaires will be used with a patient. It is very important that patients complete all the questionnaires sent to them for this process to be effective.
• The patient will either:
  • Complete assessments during a session with the therapist; or
  • Complete assessments by email or text message (their choice) when it is time for them to be completed.
• Only the patient and their therapist can view that patient’s profile and results.

Additional Materials

We have also created three one-page summaries that can be provided to patients, which we encourage you to make use of. The summaries are: