Research
Clinical Instruments
Assessment tools I've designed for clinical practice and research. Each instrument addresses a gap where existing measures are either too clinical for client use or too superficial for meaningful insight.
Personal Reflection Inventory
PRI
A self-assessment designed to help people understand their psychological patterns without clinical gatekeeping. The PRI mirrors the construct space of major personality inventories but delivers results in accessible language: what's happening beneath the surface, how you cope under stress, where your experience diverges from statistical norms.
Responses stay in the browser. Nothing is stored on a server. The reflection is generated locally. If you choose to share results with a clinician, that happens through a separate, explicit step.
Who it's for
- Individuals seeking self-understanding before or alongside therapy
- Clinicians who want a structured intake tool that clients complete independently
- Researchers studying personality patterns in non-clinical populations
GEAR Self-Assessment
Gambling Evaluation and Awareness Review
A gambling self-assessment that goes beyond risk screening to functional analysis. The GEAR identifies not just whether gambling is a problem, but what type of gambler you are (behaviorally conditioned, emotionally vulnerable, or antisocial/impulsive) and what specific functions gambling serves in your life.
Built on the Blaszczynski and Nower pathways model. Results include pathway identification, risk level, and specific treatment recommendations matched to your pattern.
Who it's for
- Individuals questioning whether their gambling has become a problem
- Family members trying to understand a loved one's gambling
- Clinicians screening for gambling disorder in general practice
Patient Health Questionnaire-9
PHQ-9
The most widely used depression screening tool in the world. Nine questions map directly to the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder, producing a severity score that tracks how much depressive symptoms have affected your daily life over the past two weeks.
Developed by Drs. Kroenke, Spitzer, and Williams (2001). Used in primary care, mental health, and research settings across 30+ countries. Pfizer released it for unrestricted public use.
Who it's for
- Anyone wanting to check in on their mood and energy over the past two weeks
- Clinicians screening for depression in primary care or behavioral health
- Researchers measuring depressive symptom severity
C.A.R.E. Relational Assessment
Calm, Accepted, Resonant, Energetic
A relational health assessment that maps four neural pathways shaping how safe, connected, and energized you feel in your closest relationships. You rate up to five people on 20 questions, revealing which dimensions of connection are strong and where your relational ecosystem has room to grow.
Based on Amy Banks, MD's integration of Relational-Cultural Theory with neuroscience. From "Four Ways to Click: Rewire Your Brain for Stronger, More Rewarding Relationships" (2015). Includes a Safety Group Score identifying which relationships can support growth work.
Who it's for
- Couples and individuals exploring relational patterns in therapy
- Clinicians working with attachment, relational trauma, or interpersonal difficulties
- Anyone curious about the neurological quality of their closest relationships
PCNS
Person-Centered Network System
An ecological momentary assessment tool that maps the unique symptom network maintaining each patient's disorder. Instead of treating diagnostic categories, PCNS identifies the specific causal pathways between symptoms, emotions, behaviors, and environmental factors for each individual.
Uses time-series data from repeated brief assessments to build idiographic network models. The resulting visualization shows clinicians which symptoms are central (maintaining the disorder) versus peripheral (likely to resolve when central symptoms are addressed). Currently in clinical testing for eating disorder treatment.
Clinical application
- Eating disorder treatment planning (current focus)
- Process-based therapy: targeting maintaining mechanisms rather than diagnostic categories
- Treatment progress monitoring through network change over time
Design Philosophy
Traditional psychological assessments were designed for clinicians to administer to patients. The instruments here invert that: they're designed for people to use on their own, with results they can understand without a clinical interpreter. The clinician version adds depth, not access.
Privacy is structural, not promised. Assessment data stays in the browser or on the client's device. Server-side storage happens only when the person explicitly chooses to share results.
For Researchers and Clinicians
If you're interested in using these instruments in your practice or research, or if you'd like to discuss construct validity, psychometric properties, or potential collaboration: brian@briannuckols.com