K-CAT® in Action: From Prioritizing Waitlists to Planning and Treatment
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Jess Levine is a licensed clinical social worker at a large community mental health organization. She has worked there for more than eight years, and the agency serves hundreds of young people every year. Her days include supervising interns, seeing individual clients at the agency, in schools, and over telehealth, and running groups.
Her team uses the K-CAT® to help with some of the hardest parts of that work: long waitlists, complex histories, and planning treatment that fits each young person.
Getting to the right young people first
Most of the young people she assesses are between 10 and 17. Her organization uses the K-CAT® before intake to help decide who needs to be seen first and who can wait a little longer.
That early look helps the team act based on need. It also means the young people who need care most don't have to wait behind everyone else.
Seeing the whole picture early
Many clients come in with more than one concern. Jess says that when a client presents with several symptoms, the team needs to know early what could be going on.
"We can administer K-CAT® and then clinicians will be able to treatment plan more effectively, because we can see very quickly what presenting issues are coming up, especially those that may be clients who are showing symptoms of multiple diagnoses."
Her team often uses the K-CAT® with clients who show low-level symptoms of several conditions. Those results help guide the first steps of treatment.
Covering a complex range in one assessment
Many of the young people Jess works with have complex histories. They may be navigating trauma, substance use, anxiety, depression, or neurodivergence, sometimes all at once.
Jess says the biggest benefit is the breadth. "We can assess for a number of conditions all at the same time, in a matter of minutes." That includes the PTSD module, which her team uses for clients with a trauma history.
Jess also points to the format. Because the K-CAT® works on a phone, computer, or tablet, families can complete it on their own schedule. That has helped the team get more responses back and see a larger set of data.
Clarity that helps clients and clinicians
Jess describes a client she had worked with for three years. Their work was based mainly on a generalized anxiety diagnosis, but the client had started to wonder about ADHD.
They used the K-CAT® together in a session. "It was both validating for the client, because the symptoms they were experiencing felt like more than anxiety," Jess said. It also helped her think about how to guide treatment more effectively. The results highlighted struggles with attention and executive functioning that may be related to ADHD.
For another client, a Spanish speaker with an extensive trauma history, the K-CAT® helped Jess understand the areas where the client was struggling. It also helped the client understand what she was experiencing.
Tracking progress over time
Some clinicians on Jess's team use the K-CAT® every few months to see how a client is doing. The results can show when mood has changed, when a psychiatrist might need to review medication, or when new symptoms are appearing. They can also show relief in other areas.
"Clients have also said it's helpful to see that they are making progress over time, especially if they feel like progress has been slow," Jess said.
Progress you can measure can make the next step clearer for everyone in the room.