Development Foundation

The design of Polaris-RES is the result of a collaborative process among leading experts in outcomes management, consumers, caregivers, administrators and clinicians. By including the perspective of stakeholders in the treatment process, RES increases acceptance of the product and provides accurate, actionable data for clinicians and administrators.

One of the main components of RES is an enhanced version of the Basis-32. Input was solicited from researchers, administrators, clinical providers, and consumers regarding the existing Basis-32 including length of the instrument, items that seem confusing or difficult, appropriateness of the response options, time frame, domains covered, and sensitivity to racial and cultural groups.

The underlying premise of Polaris-RES is that recovery can be defined, not as a cure, but as a process of acquiring relational, vocational, and emotional skills that lead to more meaningful and satisfying lives, with sustained improvement along certain dimensions.

Polaris-RES incorporates, in addition to traditional measures of symptoms and deficits, several strength-based domains.