Assessment Tools
Describe the assessment tool: Interviewing
Interviewing is gathering information, building rapport, establishing safety and connection, and assessing perspectives.
What does the SLAP Acronym stand for?
Specificity of plan
Lethality of plan
Availability of means
Proximity of rescue/help
The purpose of assessment?
Gathering information you are reporting what you are finding.
How can utilizing tenets of Polyvagal Theory help normalize emotional responses, promote emotional regulation and provide emotional safety?
When we become polyvagal-informed, we start understanding not only the other person's response but also our responsibility to
smile and have inflection in our voice, to help the person we're talking to help their body feel safe.
Describe the assessment tool: Questionnaires
Questionnaires are used to quantify, get individual perspectives, family history, and track progress.
What are the 4 P's?
Plan
Previous attempts
Probability
Protective factors
What is the purpose of clinical formulations/summary?
It is a compilation of all of the assessments into a couple of paragraphs that will guide your treatment plan.
What are some special assessment considerations when working with older adults: developmental tasks, and life stressors?
Biopsychosocial
Bio: things failing health, death and loss, stigma
Social: loss, stigma, loss of independence
Psycho: loss of memory
Describe the assessment tool: Timelines
Timelines track certain events in the family and give you insight into developmental issues that might be contributing.
What are at least 6 things you need to know to complete a suicidal assessment?
Know what to assess for risk assessment, SLAP, Contract for Safety, Phone a Friend, Are they hopeless, has there been a past attempt, what state are they in, are they impulsive, do they have supports.
What is the purpose of a treatment plan?
Has goals, guides treatment, is a legal contract between client and therapist, keeps treatment focused, and tracks progress.
What are some special considerations with assessment during the initial phone call?
Be prompt with returning the call, joining with the client over the phone, gathering initial information, assessing if it is a crisis situation, giving information about therapy, inviting family members into session, forming initial hypotheses, leaving a voicemail (be careful about this make sure consent is given to leave a VM).
Extra info: Limit the first contact by sticking to basic, relevant information, and issues.
Describe the assessment tool: Family Scales
Standardized scales that assess family function
• Fill out assessments throughout treatment to monitor clients' progress
• Reliability- A tool with high reliability repeatedly produces the same outcome.
• Validity- A tool with high validity measures what the researchers set out to measure.
How do you make decisions regarding suicidal clients?
Suicidality can be measured along a continuum from nonexistent to extreme. Patients who present with mild-to-moderate suicide potential usually can be managed on an outpatient basis. Extremely suicidal patients warrant swift and directive intervention. You can use SADPERSONS acronym.
What is a progress note?
A progress note is a note you do after or during a session - “So and so presented ____ in the office used _____ intervention from the last session…..”
How may a person with an ACE score of 7 present different from a person presenting an ACE score of 2?
The person with a higher ACE score may have more chronic health problems, mental illness, and substance use problems in adolescence and adulthood. The person with a higher ACE score may also be dealing with a negative impact on education, job opportunities, and earning potential.
Describe the assessment tools: mapping/graphing
Hint: There's a 3
Genograms: a diagram of a family's relationship system in the form of a genetic tree usually including at least 3 generations
Ecomap: provides information on the strength and nature of relationships between family members and people, institutions, and agencies in the social environment.
Social Network Map/Grid: helps family members identify their sources of support.
What needs to be documented in a suicide assessment?
Obtained relevant historical information
Obtained previous treatment records
Suicidal thoughts and impulses of patient
Consulted with one or more professionals
Discussed limits of confidentiality with the patient
Implemented appropriate suicide interventions
Provided appropriate resources to the patient
Contacted authorities and family members if the patient is at high risk
Explain the term: Unconditional positive regard
Complete support without judgment is unconditional positive regard. It protects from countertransference, provides a safe clinical environment, able to stay passionate and curious, important through assessment and treatment so you can establish rapport and make the client feel safe.
What do families do to make it better and worse for a mentally ill family member?
POSITIVE: cohesive, consistent, collaborative, regulated (can help manage symptoms, decrease the symptoms but doesn’t cure)
Family identity
Closeness
Shared values
Social supports
NEGATIVE: chaotic, critical, hostile, avoidant
Poverty
Family discord
Loneliness
Lack of social supports
Multiple stressors