Resources

Where can I find Clinical Practice Guidelines?

There are many organizations and databases where you can find CPGs online. Below is a list of some of these organizations. To make things easier, we have compiled a list of guidelines for psychologists.

Highly recommended:

• National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) Guidelines: UK-based website providing evidence-based guidelines in a variety of topics improving health and social care in England.
• Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Guidelines: A source that develops evidence based clinical practice guidelines for the National Health Service in Scotland. Mainly medical, yet includes mental health guidelines.
• Guidelines International Network – International Guidelines Library: A library of resources focused on building collaboration around guidelines development, adaptation, and implementation.
• British Psychological Society: List of practice guidelines and policy documents for targeted towards applied psychologists, endorsed by the BPS.
• The Guidelines Clearinghouse: This website was created by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in the US., the American Medical Association and the American Association of Health Plans. While this website is no longer updated, it contains a wealth of information on CPGs.

Recommended:

• American Psychological Association (APA) Guidelines for Practitioners: A variety of guidelines developed by the APA to inform areas of clinical practice including multicultural practice and working with different ages and genders.
• American Psychiatric Association (APA) Practice Guidelines: A database of practice guidelines developed and published by the APA for the assessment and treatment of psychiatric disorders.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) – National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP): A searchable online database of mental health and substance abuse interventions.
• U.S. Veteran’s Health Administration: A website containing a mental health section on guidelines for veteran/Department of Defense populations.
• American Group Psychotherapy Association – Practice Guidelines for Group Psychotherapy: A compilation of guidelines on developing and leading psychotherapy groups, by the American Group Psychotherapy Association.
• Social Care Institute for Excellence – Social Care Online: A UK-based online database with academic and legislative information on social work and social care.
• Centre of Effective Practice – Guidelines Advisory Committee (GAC): An archived list of guidelines on medical topics which include mental health.
• U.S. National Health and Medical Research Council: Practice guidelines on select topics, including mental health, available through the clinical practice guidelines portal.
• Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) Best Practice Guidelines: Library of 50 published guidelines and toolkit intended to support Ontario nurses in practice.
• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH): A collection of guidelines that incorporate unconventional healthcare treatments. The focus is primarily medical, but also includes a psychiatry and mental health section.