How Do I Measure Outcomes?

I'm planning to resume my online consultations in October. I'm struggling with how to evaluate whether the limited amount of online work that I'm comfortable with is helping people. In the past I've kept a general sense of what percentage of people actually pay for the consultation (which is optional). My assumption is that they won't pay unless they believe that they've received some benefit.

I'm sure that some people don't pay simply because it's not required. I haven't paid for every piece of shareware that I use.

One dilemma is that I can't use traditional outcome measures since I don't do any diagnosis or treatment. If I'm not "treating depression" (but simply helping people solve problems) I can't do a pre- and post-test for depression.

Any ideas? I could use some help here.

Leonard Holmes, Ph.D.

• Measuring Outcomes by Ed Freeling, 9/30/98