Lecture 10 - Assessment Process

Question 1

What is the first step of the assessment process?

Answer 1

Initial contact with the client
-What is the consultation motive or chief complaint ?
-What is the objective of the assessment ?
-How long has the problem been present ?
-Recent changes.
-Who referred you ?
-[Who is the client ?]

Question 2

What is a consultation motive?

Answer 2

-it is a problem, which is defined as a state of discrepancy between an actual state and an ideal/desired state

Question 3

What is not considered a problem? And what is an example of a true problem?

Answer 3

-A solution [I want to learn the Jacobson method of relaxation]
-An imprecise source of discomfort [I feel down; I’m way too stressed out]
-ex: I have been feeling very sad for the past two weeks for no reason, and this has started to feel very uncomfortable.

Question 4

What is the second step of the assessment process? And what key factors should be explored during this step?

Answer 4

Planning the initial meeting with the client
-what do we know about this type of problems/difficulties?
–symptoms; associated difficulties, comorbidities; causal factors, maintenance factors.
-which other areas of functioning may be affected (e.g., Work? Social Relationships? Sexuality?)?
-possible impact of developmental stage and/or culture?

Question 5

What additional considerations should be addressed during the initial meeting in the assessment process?

Answer 5

-is it a new problem? Is it a stable problem? Has the client undergone psychotherapy before?
Response to this question may influence assessment and intervention?
-how does the objective of the evaluation impact on the information that has to be collected (placement, treatment, reference, etc.) ?
-specific ethical considerations (suicide, selection, psycho-legal assessment, etc.) ?
-self-assessment of your own qualifications
-attempt to obtain access to prior assessments reports

Question 6

Based on the information obtained on the initial part of the second step, what should we ask ourself?

Answer 6

-Should I conduct this assessment?
-Which aspects should I make sure to cover in the assessment procedure?
-Remain parsimonious !!!

Question 7

Which aspects do we need to make sure to cover in the assessment procedure?

Answer 7

-the client’s concern (consultation motive).
-the psychologist’s concerns.
-variables linking both.
-the other potentially associated problems.
-the likely determinants and maintenance factors associated with these problems.
-areas of strengths that may help to support the intervention.

Question 8

What factors should be considered when selecting instruments and methods for an assessment during the second step?

Answer 8

-appropriateness of using a long multidimensional test or a test battery.
-aspects covered by short tests versus those covered in the interview.
-possibility of obtaining relevant information through document analysis, observation, expert advice, or medical/physiological assessments.
-whether to develop a test for the specific context.
-whether to request a medical evaluation.
-whether to invite other participants.

Question 9

What key considerations should be made for the instruments and methods retained for an assessment (second step)?

Answer 9

-do I have the required qualifications to use them?
-are they reliable and valid?
-are they culturally appropriate?
-do they cover all necessary assessment areas?
-is the required testing time realistic, and should I prioritize some aspects?
-have I consulted a colleague, or do I need to?

Question 10

What is the third step of the assessment process?

Answer 10

The assessment it self
(1) Obtain the client free and informed consent
(2) Conduct the assessment (interview).
(3) End the assessment

Question 11

What does obtaining the client’s free and informed consent include?

Answer 11

(1) Objectives of the session
(2) The agenda and schedule of the session
(3) Who is the client
(4) The next steps
(5) The limits and risks associated with the process
(6) What are we expecting from the participant
(7) Our role and work conditions
(8) Answer questions

Question 12

What is the fourth step of the assessment process?

Answer 12

Integrating the information
-a well-conducted assessment provides diverse information, including conflicting or hard-to-integrate details.
-the true test of your ability as an assessor is integrating this information into a consistent whole with a clear storyline.

Question 13

What are the 5 steps of integrating the information?

Answer 13

-FIRST: What are the clear observations and conclusions? What is your assessment telling you? What is(are) THE problem(s)?
-SECOND: What are the contradictory information or observations? Try to explain these discrepancies.
-THIRD: Explain the discrepancies
-FOURTH: Develop an integrated storyline.
-FIFTH: Write the report.

Question 14

What are the different types of differences that we try to explain in the second step of integrating the information?

Answer 14

-true differences: Situational (work, family, school) or temporal variability (morning, evening).
-differences related to the level of analysis (global or specific constructs), to the informants (self-reports, parental reports, teacher reports), or to the motives of the informants (placement, resources, etc.)
-measurement error: related to the instruments (reliability, validity, precision).
[the key assumption is that the first two types of discrepancies reflect the reality that needs to be explained.]

Question 15

What does developing an integrated storyline include? (step 4 of integrating the information)

Answer 15

-problems
-causes
-maintenance factors
-consequences
-priorities, based on: severity, associated difficulties, temporal sequence

Question 16

What are some basic principles for going from assessment into intervention?

Answer 16

-stay close to the consultation motive
-assess change readiness and energy level
-the intervention could target:
–the core problem
–the true maintenance factor
–quick hits: to build confidence

Question 17

What’s included in the written report?

Answer 17

-motive
-clarity
-vocabulary
-parsimony
-hypotheses
-raw scores
-procedures and sources

Question 18

How do we address the motive in the written report?

Answer 18

-always come back to the stated consultation motive and to the objectives of the assessment.

Question 19

How do ensure clarity in the written report?

Answer 19

-who will or may read the report?
-use a clear and accessible vocabulary.
-try to anticipate possible emotional reactions.
-do your best to avoid an inappropriate use of the results, or a misunderstanding of the conclusions.

Question 20

What kind of vocabulary do we use in the written report?

Answer 20

-clear, precise, simple, accurate, easy to understand.
-when appropriate, use the exact terms used by the client.

Question 21

What is parsimony in a written report?

Answer 21

-only include information that is relevant to the objective of the assessment and that is necessary to support the interpretations and recommendations
-a report should be as short at possible
-make sure that your report is as “aerated” as possible (line breaks, page breaks, font size, etc.)

Question 22

How do we address hypotheses in a written report?

Answer 22

-make sure that your clinical interpretations cannot be confounded with facts.
-make sure facts can be identified as facts and hypotheses can be identified as hypotheses

Question 23

How do we address raw scores in a written report?

Answer 23

-never include raw scores in a report, only present interpreted results in a manner that is as clear as possible
-avoid numbers; use behavioural examples
-avoid making comparisons to “normality” but describe the behaviours in a contextualized manner

Question 24

How do we address procedures and sources in a written report?

Answer 24

-describe how the assessment was conducted and identify your sources of information (interview, tests, etc.)
-acknowledge the limits of your assessment

Question 25

What are 360° Assessments?

Answer 25

-in organizations, 360° assessments are designed to provide employees/managers with feedback on their performance at work.
-this assessment relies on reports provided by “everyone” with which this person is in regular contact (e.g., supervisor, subordinates, customers, colleagues).
-the assessment procedure needs to be anonymous (for the raters), the questions need to be very precise and focused on modifiable behaviors, and the goal should be developmental (never for promotions and layoffs).

Question 26

What are the strengths of 360° Assessments when conditions are met?

Answer 26

-the target employee receives a very precise, honest, and accurate performance assessment – this does not occur frequently in organizations.
-when coupled with the provision of adequate support for change, this type of assessment process represents a very powerful motivator for performance improvement.

Question 27

What are the 2 possible sources of discrepancies in multisource assessments that 360° assessments account for? What is the third one that it does not account for?

Answer 27

-controls for differences related to informants: It directly assesses them.
-level of analysis & measurement error: the same instrument is used, so no differences can be due to these factors.
-however, it does not usually take into account true situational/temporal differences.

Question 28

What are the limitations of 360° Assessments?

Answer 28

-do not take into account true situational/temporal variability, and often combine (for the sake of simplicity) the ratings provided by different types of assessors.
-do not take into account the fact that, in real life, the competencies that are incorporated in the organizational framework are not equally important for all employees across all contexts. This makes it hard to prioritize key areas of development.

Question 29

How are key competencies assessed in organizations?

Answer 29

-typically, the assessment tool will be developed based on the competency framework [key competencies that they expect everyone has] of the organization.
-on the basis of this framework, behavioral items will be developed in order to operationalize each specific area of competency.
-assessors score each of these behaviors according to either their frequency, or degree of mastery.

Question 30

What does the precision of an assessment depend on?

Answer 30

-quality of the instruments (reliability; validity; utility)
-competencies of the assessors (technical; interpersonal; psychometric)
-cognitive process (encoding; storage; processing; and decoding the information)
-political issues (motives of the stakeholders)

Question 31

What does the efficacy of an assessment depend on?

Answer 31

-utility (meeting the specific needs and motives of the client)
-applicability (parsimony [costs]; fit with the environment; social acceptation)
-precision (quality of the instruments; competencies of the assessors; cognitive processes; political issues)
-ethic (respect of ethical norms and principles; respect of human rights; lack of conflicts of interest)