Ann Doucette, PhD

Ann Doucette is an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Health Policy.

• Phone: (202) 530-3921
• Fax: (202) 315-3304
• Email: doucette@gwu.edu

As a research faculty member, Dr. Doucette's work focuses on behavioral healthcare performance measurement, treatment effectiveness and clinical outcomes. Her research includes both qualitative and quantitative approaches, child, adolescent and adult populations, and system, organizational, and client levels, for commercial health and behavioral healthcare plans, as well as for state and county agencies.

Dr. Doucette's overall research approach is informed by complex adaptive systems theory, a belief that behavioral healthcare is an interconnected part of human and social service systems, and must therefore build a capacity to anticipate need, adapt to the unexpected, and learn from experience. "I see behavioral healthcare as part of a complex and emergent human environmental topography, requiring that we approach old and familiar service system landscapes with new vision," she says.

Dr. Doucette is currently principal investigator for these studies:

• National Institute on Drug Abuse: Project focuses on assessing service intervention quality, treatment outcomes, and relapse trajectories for individuals with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders.
• Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, SAMSHA: Project supports the development of consumer self-report surveys of perception of care and improvement as a result of treatment that addresses the objectives of the SAMHSA National Outcome Measures.
• United Behavioral Health Care. Project funded to develop and validate Adult and Child Wellness Assessments and to examine the sensitivity of these measures in informing outcomes and improving care management.
• Co-occurring State Infrastructure Grant (COSIG). Evaluation of the infrastructure change made across the DC Department of Mental Health and the Addiction Prevention Recovery Administration to more effectively monitor access, screen, treat, and assess outcomes for individuals having co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. As part of this evaluation, Dr. Doucette has implemented the Clinically Informed Outcomes Management system, a concurrent with treatment, consumer self-report survey that provides feedback and recommendations to the treatment team to optimize care outcomes. Contract funded by SAMHSA.
• Employee Assistance Program. Project focuses on the costs and benefits of screening and brief intervention for alcohol misuse among postal employees.
• Network of Employers for Traffic Safety. Oversight of a study examining employer practices to screen and treat alcohol misuse.

Prior to joining the School in 2005, Dr. Ducette served as senior research associate at the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies, where she focused on understanding behavioral health service outcomes for child, adolescent, and adult populations.

Education

Bachelor of Arts (Psychology), Antioch University, 1986
Master of Arts (Developmental Psychology), Columbia University, 1987
Master of Philosophy (Developmental Psychology), Columbia University, 1991
Doctor of Philosophy (Developmental Psychology/Sociology), Columbia University, 1992

Research

Dr. Doucette's work emphasizes the correlates, risk predictors and protective factors associated with behavior health status, risk-taking behaviors and educational and work performance across a broad range of racial and ethnic populations. She is an expert in managing, analyzing and evaluating intervention initiatives, and in developing accountability, performance measurement, outcomes monitoring systems (behavioral healthcare, prevention, risk reduction initiatives, etc.), and predictive modeling approaches.

Community Service

Dr. Doucette is associate editor for Journal of Counseling Psychology and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Psychotherapy Research and the Journal of Emotional Behavioral Disorders. She also serves on the Performance Measurement Technical Advisory Panel of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and on the Advisory Panel for Performance Measurement and Pay-for-Performance Initiatives of the American Psychological Association. She represents the American Psychological Association on the American Medical Association's Physician Consortium for Quality Improvement.

Publications

• The 18th annual research conference proceedings: A System of Care for Children's Mental Health.
  Doucette A. Assessing outcomes over time: Questioning measurement precision. In: Liberton C, Kutash K, Newman C, editors. The 18th annual research conference proceedings: A System of Care for Children’s Mental Health. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, Research and Training Center for Children’s Mental Health. 2006.
• Rasch analysis of modular survey for substance abuse disorders pilot study.
  Issued by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration: Doucette A. Rasch analysis of modular survey for substance abuse disorders pilot study. Rockville, MD: SAMHSA; 2006.
• Examining the accuracy of the specification for HEDIS chemical dependence performance measures and their appropriateness for application to adolescent populations.
  Issued by National Committee for Quality Assurance: Doucette A. Examining the accuracy of the specification for HEDIS chemical dependence performance measures and their appropriateness for application to adolescent populations. Washington, DC: NCQA; 2006.
• Revising the UBH adult/child wellness assessment: Rasch/IRT analysis of items and response scale.
  Issued by United Behavioral Healthcare: Doucette A. Revising the UBH adult/child wellness assessment: Rasch/IRT analysis of items and response scale. United Behavioral Healthcare; 2006.
• Treatment foster care and relationships: Understanding the role of therapeutic alliance between youth and treatment parent.
  Rautkis ME, Videsde Andrade AR, Doucette A, et al. Treatment foster care and relationships: Understanding the role of therapeutic alliance between youth and treatment parent. Int J Child Family Welfare 2005;8 (4):146-63.
• About children: an authoritative resource on the state of childhood today.
  Doucette A. Youth suicide. In: Cosby AG, Greenberg RE, Southward LH, Weitzman M, editors. About children: an authoritative resource on the state of childhood today. Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics; 2004.
• Using administrative data to assess the process of treatment services for adolescents with substance abuse disorders.
  Cavanaugh D, Doucette A. Using administrative data to assess the process of treatment services for adolescents with substance abuse disorders. J Psychoactive Drugs 2004;36 (4): 483–88.
• Youth therapeutic alliance in intensive treatment settings.
  Bickman L, Andrade AR, Lambert W, Doucette A, et al. Youth therapeutic alliance in intensive treatment settings. J Behav Health Serv Res 2004;31 (2):134-48.
• Child/adolescent measurement system (CAMS): user manual.
  Doucette A. Child/adolescent measurement system (CAMS): user manual. Nashville (TN); 2004.
• Examining the psychometric integrity of the forum on performance measurement, Modular Survey pilot study.
  Issued by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration: Doucette A. Examining the psychometric integrity of the forum on performance measurement, Modular Survey pilot study. Rockville (MD): SAMHSA; 2004.
• Local data report: patterns of change, Nashville connection system of care.
  Issued by Tennessee State Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities: Doucette A, Mahan B, Dordal L. Local data report: patterns of change, Nashville connection system of care. Nashville (TN); 2004.
• Assessing the precision of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention core measures initiative: report on the psychometric properties of the CMI measures.
  Issued by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration: Doucette A. Assessing the precision of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention core measures initiative: report on the psychometric properties of the CMI measures. Rockville (MD): SAMHSA; 2004.