The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) is a multidimensional symptom inventory designed to reflect psychological symptom patterns of psychiatric and medical patients. This 53-item self-report is the short form of the SCL-90-R instrument. Like the SCL-90-R instrument, the BSI can be useful in initial evaluation of patients at intake as an objective method of screening for psychological problems. The BSI instrument is especially appropriate in clinical situations where debilitation results in reduced attention and endurance, in research with limited interview schedules, and in outpatient clinics where testing procedures demand brevity. The BSI instrument is also frequently used in measuring patient progress during treatment or in the assessment of treatment outcomes. Completion time is 8-10 minutes. This instrument is useful in tracking changes in reported psychopathology over time. It gives specific indicators of a variety of forms of psychopathology and overall relative severity of psychopathology. The BSI 18 (Derogatis, 2000) is a brief, easy-to-administer, abbreviated version of the BSI and the SCL. It takes 4 minutes to administer and complete, and measures somatization, depression, and anxiety in both inpatient and community settings. It is used primarily to monitor mental health status during hospitalization and aftercare for patients with chronic conditions.