The Progress In Treatment Questionnaires: Measures for assessing progress in the treatment of complex dissociative disorders (DD)
The Progress in Treatment Questionnaire – Therapist (PITQ-t; a therapist report measure), and the Progress in Treatment Questionnaire – Patient (PITQ-p; a patient self-report measure) were developed to evaluate therapeutic progress and outcomes for individuals with DID and other complex and/or severe DD. Each assesses progress towards expert-identified targets of dissociative disorder (DD) treatment (e.g., Brand et al., 2012; ISSTD, 2005, 2011).
The PITQ-p and PITQ-t have demonstrated evidence of good internal reliability and significant concurrent relationships with established measures of emotion-related functioning, PTSD symptoms, dissociation, and psychological and social quality of life. Higher scores have also been found to be related to lower levels of self-harm, dangerous behaviors, and impulsivity, as well as higher positive emotions.
The PITQ-p (available here) is a patient self-report measure that queries DD patients’ ability to manage their emotions, symptoms, relationships, safety, and well-being. Items 27–32 are only completed by patients who report experiencing dissociative self-states. Patients are instructed to report what percentage of time they demonstrated a behavior during the prior week, ranging from 0% (never) to 100% (always). Higher scores indicate better adaptive functioning.
The PITQ-p enables therapists to quickly assess multiple areas of functioning that may be challenging for DD patients, as well as the relative presence or absence of a range of expert-identified abilities targeted in DD treatment. Asking patients to periodically complete a PITQ-p provides important information that can facilitate treatment planning and treatment responsiveness. Completing the PITQ-p also encourages patients to reflect on their progress towards treatment goals, which may encourage increased use of the coping skills assessed within the measure (e.g., grounding, past vs. present, containment, etc.).
The PITQ-t (available here) is a therapist-completed measure of dissociative patients’ ability to manage their emotions, symptoms, relationships, safety, and well-being. The 29-item instrument prompts therapists to assess the percentage of time their patients have demonstrated DD treatment target behaviors over the prior 6 months. The measure includes 6 items completed only in cases where patients demonstrate dissociative self-states (items 24-29). Response options range from 0% (never) to 100% (always); the first three items are reverse-scored. Higher scores indicate better adaptive functioning. Completing a PITQ-t enables therapists to consider multiple areas of functioning that may be challenging for DD patients, as well as the relative presence or absence of a range of expert-identified abilities targeted in DD treatment, information that can guide treatment planning.
For details regarding psychometric properties of these measures, please see Schielke, H., Brand, B., & Marsic, A. (2017). Assessing therapeutic change in patients with severe dissociative disorders: The Progress in Treatment Questionnaire, therapist and patient measures. European Journal of Psychotraumatology. doi: 10.1080/20008198.2017.1380471
The use of these measures is free of charge.
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