The Global Appraisal of Individual Needs (GAIN) Progressive Approach to Assessment
The Global Appraisal of Individual Needs (GAIN) originated in 1993 as a collaborative effort between clinicians, researchers, and policymakers to create a comprehensive and standardized bio-psychosocial assessment tool. Dr. Michael Dennis, Senior Research Psychologist and Director of the Lighthouse Institute at Chestnut Health Systems, led this project through the development of the GAIN Initial (GAIN-I). His goal was to bridge the gap between clinical research and the growing movement toward evidence-based practice. Barbara Estrada is the Director of the GAIN Coordinating Center (GCC).
The GAIN has developed into a progressive and integrated family of instruments with a series of measures and computer applications designed to support a number of treatment practices, including:
- Initial screenings (GAIN-SS)
- Brief interventions and referrals (GAIN-Q3)
- Standardized clinical assessments for diagnosis, placement, and treatment planning (GAIN-I, GAIN-Q4)
- Monitoring change in clinical status, service utilization, and costs to society (GAIN-M90)
- Subgroup and program-level needs assessment, evaluation, and secondary analysis
The GAIN family of instruments is appropriate for use with adolescents, young adults and adults from a variety of populations in various levels of care. Some of these include:
- Outpatient/Intensive outpatient programs
- Short-term/Long-term residential programs
- Therapeutic communities
- Justice programs
- School-based programs
- Welfare programs
- Primary health care programs
- Co-occurring disorder programs
- Drug courts
- Private practices
- Child and family services
The GAIN also includes a workforce development model and suite of software to support its use.
