Severely Mentally Ill Client Acceptance of Automated Assessments in Mental Health

Numerous automated systems have been developed for mental health settings. However, questions continue to arise about their acceptability, particularly with regard to direct client use. Failure to accurately answer these questions of acceptability can lead to great inefficiencies and poor decisions. For example, recently the first author was initially required, by state and Federal authorities, to forgo the development of an automated client-based data collection system because it might interfere with the client-assessor bonding. This occurred even though the alternative systems were more expensive, less reliable, and much less efficient. It was not until days before the implementation of the nonautomated system, after key officials had left the government, that the decision was rescinded and automated assessment permitted.