Expert Insights '23 - What We Know from Therapeutic Assessment About How to Make Assessment A Benefi

Abstract

Psychological assessment is typically viewed as an information gathering process used to diagnosis psychological disorders, provide treatment recommendations, or assess risk with sometimes mixed results for clients. Moving beyond the traditional view of assessment as an information-gathering tool, Stephen Finn and colleagues developed and researched Therapeutic Assessment, a collaborative effort between client(s) and the assessor with the goal being therapeutic change. Since 1992, when the first research on TA was published (Finn & Tonsager, 1992), TA has been studied with adult inpatient and outpatient clients, adolescents, inpatient and outpatient children, and couples. There are now over 40 controlled research papers and 3 meta-analyses published on TA and its close cousin, Collaborative Assessment. These meta-analysis have consistently shown that even in a brief period of time, when compared to no treatment, assessment as usual, or other credible brief therapies, C/TA has a significant impact on: 1) clients’ symptomatology (with effect sizes in the range of .19 to .37), 2) clients’ motivation for and satisfaction with subsequent treatment (effect sizes from .59 to 1.11), and 3) their views about themselves, with clients showing less shame and increases in self-esteem after a TA (effect sizes 37 to .42) (Aschieri et al. 2023; Durosini & Aschieri, 2021; Poston & Hanson, 2010). Through the core values of TA: respect, humility, curiosity, compassion, collaboration, and openness, TA is uniquely poised to provide positive experiences to clients that will help them change their story about themselves and move forward in their lives.

Presenter

Pamela Schaber | Center for Therapeutic Assessment