Why QPASS was created

QPASS is the product of my attempt as a psychotherapist to glean the most valuable information on the psychological well being of my counselees in the least amount of time and expense possible. I embarked on this project as a way to minimize time in assessment and maximize my time in providing actual treatment.

Noticing that busy physicians have,on their clipboards, a set of the patient's vital signs(temperature, blood pressure,etc.) handy before entering the examination room,I asked myself:"What is the most important information for me to have at the start of each psychotherapy session?"

Realizing that my most productive counseling sessions seemed to be those in which I gained access to the patient's emotional distress early in the session, I reasoned that the sooner I had access to these emotions,the sooner I could respond to them, and have more time for actual therapy.

Emotional distress, in psychological literature, is called negative affect, or NA. NA can be boiled down to three basic emotions: depression, anxiety and anger. Unfortunately, the psychological instruments that assess these emotions comprehensively are specifically designed to measure only one of them. I designed QPASS so that my colleagues and I could assess NA and related constructs accurately and conveniently with one, singular instrument.

It is my hope that you will find that QPASS proves to be very useful in your setting. Please feel free to email me with any question,comment or suggestions you might have on the instrument.

Scott Lownsdale, Ed.D. Author
Support@QPASSLive.com