Therapeutic Assessment (TA) is a semi-structured hybrid of assessment and intervention methods that aims to promote positive change in clients through collaboration. Studies have shown it to be an effective therapeutic intervention, but few studies have focused on adolescents. This comparative study examines the effects of TA, compared with assessment as usual, with an adolescent population. Dependent measures include symptom reduction and components of the assessment experience, specifically self-knowledge, feeling understood by the assessor, positive relationship with the assessor, and negative feelings about the assessment. A repeated measure ANOVA will examine the group effects on symptom reduction, while a MANOVA will be used to determine the effects of TA on the variables of assessment experience. / text

This study examined the impact therapeutic assessment (TA) had on participants recruited from the UNT Psychology Clinic's waiting list. Using a pretest-posttest design, participants completed measures prior to and following their assessment. UNT Psychology Clinic archive data was used to compare this sample to clients who received traditional information gathering assessments with implicit measures, those receiving assessments relying on only self-report measures, and those who did not receive an assessment before beginning psychotherapy. The findings of this study vary based on the criteria being examined. Due to the small sample in the experimental group, no statistical significance was found through null hypothesis testing. However, the TA group's scores on the Outcome Questionnaire – 45 (OQ) and the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) indicated better outcomes than those without a TA, with large effect sizes. Furthermore, those who received a TA were more likely than those without a TA to score below the clinically significant cutoff levels on the OQ. The study raises issues for consideration in what is deemed "effective" in therapeutic efficacy research.

Whereas traditional models of psychological assessment have emphasized the use of standardized data to inform treatment or communicate about a client, collaborative/therapeutic approaches have focused on engaging clients in a relationship based on mutuality and alliance, wherein the assessment process is experienced as accessible and beneficial – potentially acting as a therapeutic intervention in and of itself (Finn, 2007; Finn & Tonsager, 1997). Although various forms of collaborative assessment have been practiced with adults, adolescents, and children, and have shown promise clinically, research is scant regarding the efficacy of this approach in the school context. The dearth of research evaluating the use of collaborative/therapeutic assessment models in schools is a valuable area of inquiry, both because psychological assessment is practiced frequently in schools, and because, beginning in 1997, amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) called for increased student involvement in special education processes (Texas Education Agency, Office of Special Education, 2004). Such increased student involvement could be facilitated through the use of collaborative/therapeutic assessment methods in schools. The present study used a multiple baseline, single-case design to explore how participation in a school-based psychological assessment utilizing elements of collaborative/therapeutic assessment would affect six Central Texas high school students. The assessment was hypothesized to be an intervention that would positively affect the youths’ perceptions of their self-determination, self-efficacy, and internal locus of control. The study also explored how the intervention affected students’ self knowledge, and feelings of therapeutic alliance with the assessor, as well as their satisfaction with the assessment. Results indicated that, following their participation in the assessment intervention, students evidenced: (1) shifts towards a more internal locus of control, (2) increased ratings of therapeutic alliance, (3) increased ratings of self knowledge, and (4) satisfaction with the assessment intervention. This study offers a promising framework for the use of collaborative/therapeutic assessment methods within the school context as a means through which to empower students receiving special education services. / text

Therapeutic Assessment (TA), a semi-structured form of collaborative assessment that combines psychological assessment with individual and family therapy techniques, has emerged as an innovative and promising short-term family systems intervention for children and their families and potentially with adolescents. The goal for the study was to explore the utility of TA with adolescents (TA-A) as an effective short-term family intervention for adolescents. The study used an interrupted time-series design to follow three adolescents as they took part in a TA-A with their families. Participants were adolescents who presented with behavioral, emotional, and/or interpersonal difficulties. They were referred by either a local community mental health clinic or practitioners in private practice who believed they and their families would benefit from a TA-A. Participants completed daily measures of family functioning before, during, and after the TA-A. Additionally, the participants completed longer standardized repeated measures of family functioning and were interviewed about their experience of TA-A throughout the different phases of the TA-A. Simulation Modeling Analysis (SMA) revealed that none of the participants reported improvements on daily measures of family functioning. However, repeated measures revealed improvements in family functioning for all participants either at the conclusion of the TA-A and/or at Follow-up. Qualitatively, all three participants provided various levels of feedback about the positive impact of TA-A on their family. Themes across the cases, as well as limitations and future direction, are discussed. / text

The Therapeutic Assessment model of child assessment (TA-C) aims to provide psychological benefits and facilitate positive changes in the children and their family. However, research on TA-C has focused almost exclusively on the experience of clients from mainstream American culture. This study investigated the cultural applicability of the TA-C model with Chinese adults residing in the United States. A convenience sample of 74 Chinese adults, ages 25-40, was recruited. Two sets of vignettes were written to simulate the experiences of each step of the TA-C and information gathering (IG) model of assessment. Each participant was randomly assigned to either the TA-C or the IG group, and completed the Perceived Experiences of Assessment Scale and My Feelings after reading each phase of the assessment (introductory, testing, child feedback, parent feedback, and overall experience) in their vignette. In addition, each participant completed the European American Values Scale of Asian Americans--Revised and the Asian American Values Scale--Multidimensional, designed to measure of acculturation and enculturation respectively. Findings indicated that after taking acculturation and enculturation into account, Chinese participants had a more positive experience with the TA-C model than the IG model. Additional analyses found that the level of acculturation and enculturation had no significant impact on how participants in the TA-C group experienced the case through their vignette, supporting the robust nature of TA-C. However, participants in the IG group did experience an impact of both acculturation and enculturation on how they experienced the case through their vignette, supporting less applicability of the IG model when high enculturation is present. In addition, the experience of being emotionally stirred up in the TA-C condition was examined and discussed, suggesting further that the TA-C model both evokes and supports emotional disequilibrium that then facilitates a positive experience by the end of the TA-C. In conclusion, this study offered promising preliminary support for TA-C as a culturally appropriate child assessment model for Chinese families in the United States and provided a more nuanced understanding about the use of the IG model with those who are highly enculturated. / text

Survivors of intimate partner violence often suffer from a number of serious aftereffects, but current prevalent treatments lack effectiveness for this population. Along with typical trauma symptoms such as avoidance and constriction, other common challenges unique to survivors include a loss of sense of self, negative self-appraisal, and a lack of self- efficacy. Therapeutic Assessment is well-suited to this population due to its potential for helping clients to replace distorted beliefs about the self with more adaptive ones, engaging clients as equals, and helping clients to form cohesive life narratives. The proposed study will measure the effectiveness of this approach with three to five subjects using a time-series design. Subjects will provide daily ratings of their personal experiences evaluating five areas of concern, three to be shared across subjects and two tailored to the priorities of each specific participant. The resulting indices will be tested using Simulation Modeling Analysis (SMA), controlling for autocorrelation using the Lag 1 correlation, to see whether statistically significant changes occur in the desired directions. / text

The research study proposed in this report reviews and integrates the literature on client/parent satisfaction with Therapeutic Assessment. Specifically, the importance of parent collaboration and the intervention potential of child assessment are highlighted. The result is the development of a parent self-report measure that could be utilized in multiple settings to assess the interpersonal and collaborative experiences of parents. It is these experiences of parents which have been shown to be more highly related to general satisfaction than outcomes or demographics. The methodology includes Confirmatory Factor Analysis to revise the scale and MANCOVA to compare traditional assessment with collaborative/therapeutic assessment practices in multiple settings. / text

Psychological assessment has a long history to be used for diagnostic purposes for all ages. This traditional model of assessment has been common for decades, but has not emphasized some important aspects of best practice (Brenner, 2003). To address the limitations of the information gathering model of assessment, collaborative and therapeutic approaches to assessment have been developed over the past several decades (e.g. Finn & Thonsager, 1997; Fischer, 1970). Therapeutic Assessment (TA) emphasizes the opportunity to provide positive changes in the client and their system by involving the client throughout the assessment process, and establishing a meaningful and collaborative relationship between assessor and client (Finn, 2007). The TA has been found to produce many positive impacts on client’s assessment experiences in mainstream American culture. It is important to note how these positive impacts transfer to clients of different cultures. Thus the purpose of this study will be to investigate the effect of acculturation on Asian American parents’ perception of existing models of child assessment. This study will examine the relations between acculturation and perception of assessment models (information gathering model versus Therapeutic Assessment) among Chinese American parents. / text

Finn (2007) developed a procedure that uses psychological assessment tools towards therapeutic ends known as Therapeutic Assessment (TA). The Assessment Intervention session was later developed as part of the TA as an improved method of preparing clients for feedback. The dynamics and effectiveness of this stage of TA have not been studied to date. The current study used a time-series design to follow two clients as they took part in a TA intervention. Participants were involved in ongoing therapy at the time of the study. Participants completed brief, daily measures related to their reported symptoms and presenting concerns before, during, and after the TA. In addition, clients completed longer, standardized measures of psychological symptomatology and therapy progress. Clients and the assessor (Dr. Stephen Finn) were interviewed about their experiences of the Assessment Intervention session and the resulting text was coded and interpreted according to a modified Grounded Theory Method. A time-series analysis revealed that neither client reported improvement on any of the daily measures of symptoms when comparing baseline and post-TA intervention periods. However, one client saw improvements during the TA period only and both clients saw global improvements in the scores reported on the standardized measures. In addition, clients reported satisfaction with the TA and, while therapists reported positive results regarding therapy progress, clients’ reports were mixed. Finally, qualitative feedback from participants revealed that clients and assessor experienced the Assessment Intervention as evoking something familiar but also new for the clients. The integration of the new and the familiar had to be carefully balanced for the clients to be able to experience the Assessment Intervention as beneficial. The context of narrative, a supportive relationship with the assessor, and strong, memory-linking feelings and insights were important for the positive integration of the new experiences. / text

Collaborative child assessment combines traditional assessment methods with techniques aimed at increasing the therapeutic benefit of assessment for children and parents. Previous studies have found high consumer satisfaction, increased self esteem, decreased symptomatic distress, and greater hopefulness following participation in collaborative assessment. However, full collaborative assessment protocols are complex, time-consuming, and thus not practical to use in many applied settings. This study investigated the practicality and potential benefits of implementing several collaborative techniques into otherwise traditional child assessments, including co-generation of assessment questions, use of a process orientation during child testing, and use of an individualized, level-based approach when providing feedback. It was hypothesized that, compared to parents participating in traditional assessments, parents participating in collaborative assessments would report greater satisfaction, greater collaboration, learning more about their child, stronger alliance with the assessor, more positive feelings about the assessment process, and more hopefulness about their child’s challenges and future. Univariate analysis of variance statistics were used to test these hypotheses, which were not statistically supported, in part due to the limited sample size obtained. However, group differences of small to moderate effect sizes were seen for most of the outcome variables, including parent-reported learning about their child, assessor-parent relationship, assessor-child relationship, collaboration, negative feelings about the assessment, general satisfaction, and negative emotions about their child’s future. The results suggest that further research in this area is warranted. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are discussed. / text