Therapy Session Tools

Outcome Rating Scale (ORS) and Child Outcome Rating Scale (CORS) 

The Outcome Rating Scale (ORS) and Child Outcome Rating Scale (CORS) are measures used to monitor children’s, young people and their families’ or carers’ feedback on therapeutic progress.

The ORS is a simple, four-item session-by-session measure designed to assess areas of life functioning known to change as a result of therapeutic intervention. These areas include: personal or symptom distress (measuring individual well-being); interpersonal well-being (measuring how well the user is getting along in intimate relationships); social role (measuring satisfaction with work/school and relationships outside of home); and overall well-being. The ORS translates these four dimensions of functioning into four visual analogue scales which are 10cm lines, with instructions to place a mark on each line with low estimate to the left and high to the right. The ORS is designed to be accessible to a child with a 13-year-old’s reading level, making it feasible for adolescents and adults. 

The CORS was developed for children age 6–12. It has the same format as the ORS but with more child friendly language and smiley and frowning faces to facilitate the child’s understanding when completing the scales (Duncan et al., 2003). 

For children 5 or under there is also the Young Child Outcome Rating Scale (YCORS), which can be a useful way of engaging young children regarding their assessment of how they are doing.