"Why am I so stuck?": A Collaborative/Therapeutic Assessment Case Discussion

Assessors from 3 continents worked together on a single multimethod case study. Their goal was to hold the client at the center and forefront of their attitudes and thinking as each assessor focused on a specific measure or group of measures. The adult client requested a neuropsychological assessmen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality assessment 2016-07, Vol.98 (4), p.360-373
Main Authors: Engelman, Diane H., Allyn, J. B., Crisi, Alessandro, Finn, Stephen E., Fischer, Constance T., Nakamura, Noriko
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Collaboration
Cooperative Behavior
Evaluation
Feedback
Female
Humans
Individualized
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
Mood Disorders - psychology
Mood Disorders - therapy
Neuropsychological Tests
Neuropsychology
Personality psychology
Psychological assessment
Psychotherapy - methods
Rorschach Test
Usefulness
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Summary:Assessors from 3 continents worked together on a single multimethod case study. Their goal was to hold the client at the center and forefront of their attitudes and thinking as each assessor focused on a specific measure or group of measures. The adult client requested a neuropsychological assessment and completed a full battery of cognitive measures as well as the MMPI-2, the Rorschach, and the Wartegg. A basic tenet of collaborative/therapeutic assessment holds that the client is a full partner in the assessment process; he or she is also seen as the final arbiter of the usefulness of the ideas derived. With that in mind, the client worked with the lead assessor to create 6 questions she wished answered by the assessment. Feedback and discussion occurred in a number of ways: through discussion sessions with the lead assessor that included extended inquiry; individualized letters from the other assessors, each addressing her 6 questions; a summary letter from the lead assessor; and a metaphorical, therapeutic story that stressed key findings from the assessment. Results converged powerfully, with similar findings from each assessor. The client stated that she felt heard and understood in the process, even by individuals who she had never met personally.
ISSN:0022-3891
1532-7752
DOI:10.1080/00223891.2015.1119154