Brief Problems Monitor FAQs

How should the Brief Problem Monitor for Ages 18-59 (BPM/18-59) be used?
The BPM/18-59 is designed to monitor adults' responses to interventions (RTIs) over periods of days, weeks, or months. It is also designed to monitor adults' functioning during the course of services in outpatient, inpatient, residential, and other contexts. The BPM/18-59 is not designed for the comprehensive assessment needed to determine whether a person needs help, for what problems, or the kind of help needed. Instead, more comprehensive instruments such as the ASR/18-59 and/or ABCL/18-59 should be used in conjunction with other assessment methods such as interviews, tests, medical evaluations, and developmental histories to identify the adult's needs and to design interventions.
Can the BPM/18-59 be used to evaluate outcomes of services?
Although the BPM/18-59 is designed to monitor adults' responses to interventions (RTIs) and their functioning during the course of services, the ultimate outcomes of interventions and services should be evaluated by comparing outcome scores on more comprehensive instruments with initial scores on the same instruments, such as the ABCL/18-59 and ASR/18-59. Comprehensive outcome assessments are needed to detect improvements, failures to improve, and worsening in more aspects of functioning than can be assessed with any brief instruments.