Essential Assessment Skills

Essential Assessment Skills
Ch 1.
Intro to assessment
Assessment is the foundation for treatment Helps you uncover client expectations Helps you understand how problems manifest and impact your client’s lives Helps you figure out why the problem exists Helps you select the best treatment for your client Helps you evaluate how quickly therapy is bringing about change
Challenges of doing an effective assessment Beginning therapists may feel overwhelmed with the amount of info that is obtained in assessment using theory to inform one’s assessment it can be a mistake to develop strong alliance with one theory and use that theory for all situations The right theory to use in each case will emerge from your assessment data
A woman who had hyperthyroidism that was confused with depression Medications can also have a psychological effect or side effect e.g blood pressure meds Health issues can exacerbate relationship problems Psychological Factors Since couples and families are composed of and created by individuals psychological factors that affect individuals are vital to assessment. Change in a family system happens when you work with an individual to change and those changes go on to enact change in the entire family system Assessment should evaluate general domains of affect, behavior, and cognitions. Affect or lack of it, is often a key symptom of psychological disorders and is a critical diagnostic clue. Assessing behavior is vital to determine the client’s level of functioning, and provide you with insight into their thoughts and feelings cognition is important because this is how we make sense of the world around us, the behavior of others, and distorted cognition can be a diagnostic tool. Careful evaluations of affect, behavior, and cognitions may uncover psychopathology. Anything unusual or out of the ordinary may indicate mental
Do not overlook cultural beliefs or values in the assessment Spiritual issues How individuals make meaning out of things. Can be a source of comfort or may cause guilt and anxiety Many of the same issues as listed in culture Seven guiding principles of assessment Joining is critical to assessment: develop a quality therapeutic alliance

Be curious: curiosity can encourage us to explore topics more deeply. curiosity can encourage us to be less judgmental curiosity can help us overcome our inhibition about asking difficult questions Think assessment all the time during assessment information can be overlooked and come out in unique ways later on Modify treatment as necessary to accommodate new info Assessment is intervention, Intervention is assessment how clients respond to your interventions can be incorporated into your understanding on the client and the family system Assessment can be a powerful catalyst for change

Assess for