VHG guidance on use of Anxiety Disorder Specific Measures (ADSMs)

VHG guidance on use of Anxiety Disorder Specific Measures (ADSMs)

1.       Background information/purpose of this document 2
2.       A brief overview of ADSMs and their utility. 2
3.       A guide to anxiety disorder classifications and ADSMs. 2
4.       Where to access additional support 3
 

1.    Background information/purpose of this document

This guide is designed to to support therapists working with clients referred through NHS Therapies with anxiety disorder presentations. This guidance covers the use of ADSMs (Anxiety Disorder Specific Measures) to support therapists and clients to measure and discuss change and recovery throughout therapy.
 
This guidance is based on the NHS Talking Therapies Manual v7.1. The full document can be viewed here: IAPT Manual (england.nhs.uk)
 

2.    A brief overview of ADSMs and their utility

ADSMs are sensitive measures that look at the particular features and symptoms of specific anxiety disorders.
Most clinicians will be familiar with the GAD-7, which is a generalised measure of anxiety symptoms, but there are many symptoms and features of different types of anxiety that this does not highlight or measure. Using the GAD-7 alone means specific issues that could be worked on in therapy could be missed at assessment, during formulation and treatment planning, and throughout the therapy journey.
 
Recent evidence (Clarke, 2022) suggests that using a specific ADSM alongside the GAD7 can enhance therapists’ and clients’ experiences of tailoring therapy and targeting particular symptoms and can improve clients’ overall functioning, as measured by the WSAS (Work and Social Adjustment Scale).
 
Further information on the evidence base for the effectiveness of using problem-specific ADSMs is available in Prof. David Clarke’s paper here: ADSMs_Recovery_IAPT.pdf (pcmis.com)
 

3.    A guide to anxiety disorder classifications and ADSMs

How to use this table

This table contains a list of working diagnoses for anxiety disorders, along with the recommended ADSM to use for the working diagnosis based on the client’s presentation and reported symptoms. Depression is included because the majority of clients presenting with depression will also present with features of anxiety and vice versa. The use of PHQ9 is therefore recommended by NHS Talking Therapies best practice for all clients.

Important: The working diagnosis selected in MPB needs to be the correct working diagnosis for the ADSM you are going to use, e.g. if your working diagnosis is social anxiety, this must be selected in order for the SPIN to be available for completion.  
 
Primary presenting problem
Depression symptoms present?
Anxiety symptoms present?
Depression
PHQ9
GAD7
Generalised anxiety disorder
PHQ9
GAD7
Mixed anxiety and depression
PHQ9
GAD7
Chronic pain (in the context of anxiety/depression)
PHQ9
GAD7
Agoraphobia
PHQ9
Mobility Inventory (MI)
Social Anxiety/Social Phobia
PHQ9
Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN)
Other phobias
PHQ9
GAD7 (specific phobia measures under development)
Health anxiety
PHQ9
Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI)
OCD
PHQ9
Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (OCI)
Panic disorder
PHQ9
Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS)
PTSD
PHQ9
PCL-5 (PTSD checklist for DSM-5)
Body Dysmorphia/Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)
PHQ9
Body Image Questionnaire (BIQ) Weekly
 
 

4.    Where to access additional support

If you require additional support around determining a client’s working diagnosis, or using ADSMs, the VHG clinical support team can be contacted at network.clinical@vitahealthgroup.zohodesk.eu if you need any further information on the above.

If you experience technical difficulties with any features of MPB relating to ADSM completion, please raise a ticket here for our support team. Please include a description of the problem and screenshots of any error messages. Vita Health Group | My Area | Submit a Ticket (zohodesk.eu)


Authors: Liam Wilson, Clinical lead/Liz Smith, Senior Counsellor
Publish date: 12/07/2024
Last updated: 09/10/2024 


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