Comprehensive Assessments

The comprehensive protocols we have developed at the Center are intended for making a precise determination of what kind of help a person needs. These evaluations are conducted as part of the procedure we call the Collaborative Treatment Method. They do not necessarily conclude with a recommendation for psychotherapy. Cognitive or behavioral remediation, neurological assessment and treatment, medication, occupational counseling, or educational consultation, are some of the many alternatives. A comprehensive assessment may itself serve as a focused treatment intervention.

Assessments can range in length and complexity from brief, where the clinician and patient meet a few times, to inclusive, which may take several weeks or even months to complete. Whether brief or extended, these evaluations are always comprehensive in scope and ideally include psychological or neuropsychological testing. The evaluations we describe are accompanied, as needed, by contacts with family members and other professionals who have been involved in the patient's care. When testing is included, a psychologist-assessor joins the treatment team. At the conclusion of the formal neuropsychological or psychological assessment the psychologist-assessor shares his or her findings with the patient and clinician.

The principles of the Collaborative Treatment Method are elaborated in Frankel's four books and his other publications, as well as in Engelman's and Frankel's published article, The three person field: collaborative consultation to psychotherapy. Psychotherapy conducted according to the principles of the Collaborative Treatment Method represents a distinct modification of traditional psychotherapy technique, with emphasis on the exchange of information between the patient, clinician, and, when involved, the psychologist-assessor. Particular attention is paid to the patient's observations, opinions, and input about his or her developing needs. To faciliate an authentic collaborative process, we believe the clinician needs to be relatively transparent, revealing enough information about him or herself for the patient to have a good sense of the person with whom he or she is interacting.

Please contact us if you would like more information about The Center.

Abbreviated List of References

• Engelman, D. and Frankel, S. (2002) The three-person field: Collaborative consultation to psychotherapy. The Humanistic Psychologist, 30, 49-62.
  
  
• Exner, J.E., & Erdberg, P. (2005) The Rorschach: A Comprehensive System (Third Edition). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
  
  
• Finn, S. (2007) In Your Client's Shoes, Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
  
  
• Finn, S. (March 1999) Giving feedback to clients about "defensive" test protocols: Guidelines from therapeutic assessment. Paper presented at the Midwinter Meeting of the Society for Personality Assessment, New Orleans, LA.
  
  
• Finn, S., & Fischer, C. (1997) Therapeutic psychological assessment: Illustration and analysis of philosophical assumptions. Presented at annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, August 8, 1997.
  
  
• Fischer, C. (1994) Individualizing Psychological Assessment. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
  
  
• Frankel, S. (2008) Evidence from Within: A New Paradigm for Clinical Practice. Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson [An imprint of Rowman and Littlefield].
  
  
• Frankel, S. (2007) Making Psychotherapy Work: Collaborating Effectively with Your Patient. Madison, CT: Psychosocial Press [An imprint of International Universities Press].
  
  
• Frankel, S. (2006) The clinical uses of therapeutic disjunctions. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 23: 56-71.
  
  
• Frankel, S. (1995 and 2004) Intricate Engagements: The Collaborative Basis of Therapeutic Change. Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson [An imprint of Rowman and Littlefield].
  
  
• Frankel, S. (2000) Hidden Faults: Identifying and Resolving Therapeutic Disjunctions. Madison: CT: Psychosocial Press [An offprint of International Universities Press].

Click here for a detailed guide to the Collaborative Treatment Method.