Measurement to Improve Treatment Delivery: A Commentary on the HiTOP Measure Development Project

Abstract

The focus on this commentary will be on how dimensional models of psychopathology, particularly HiTOP model, have the potential to significantly streamline treatment efforts and increase the likelihood that evidence-based interventions are more widely integrated in clinical practice. The approach to assessment adopted by the HiTOP consortium is likely to have an outsized impact on whether these innovations are adopted in routine clinical practice. Toward that end, I provide suggestions for a measurement strategy that can maximize clinical utility. In particular, the tension between creating items that reflect all phenomena at the sign/symptom level to refine our understanding of relationships among psychopathological constructs and creating a measure that is suitable for clinical practice is explored.