Collaboration in Therapeutic Assessment

Throughout a therapeutic assessment, you and I gain knowledge and understanding together as we collaboratively answer your questions. You are not limited to a passive evaluee role; rather, you play an active and integral part in the evaluation process by wearing many different hats:

Co-interpreter

You and I dialogue about potential interpretations of the information.

Example: I've just administered the Rorschach inkblot test and I let you know that you seem to have a habit of repeatedly assuming that you've given the wrong answer, even though there's no evidence of that. "Is this a pattern you notice in your life, either personal or work?" You may respond, "No, actually, this seems to only happen when I'm in any kind of formal evaluation; otherwise, I don't really do that."

Co-observer

As you have more revelations about yourself and as things begin to make more sense as to why they are the way they are, you’ll naturally find yourself noticing more and more things about your behaviors, thoughts, and emotions. Those observations are vital to the assessment process.

Example: On Day 3 of testing, you come in and say, "Last time we had talked about how I kept assuming I had screwed up, but I told you that it only happens during formal evaluation. This week, though, I noticed myself doing it quite often. I asked a couple of close coworker friends if they had noticed it and they immediately said that I do that all the time!"

Co-experimenter

During the assessment process, we will test out some of the hypotheses we have been creating. Those experiments will also give us the information we need to create an action plan for moving forward.

Example: On assessment Day 4, I say that I'm going to administer a test and this time, I want you to have the mindset that you are "Queen of the Universe" and everything you say, goes. So, as Queen of the Universe, every answer you give is correct. We then discuss how it felt to go through this test with the assumption that everything you said was correct, versus the other tests where that little voice inside of you kept telling you that you were wrong.

Co-writer

For many years you've told yourself stories about your deficits and your pathologies. However, during the assessment process, these stories start to morph with the observations and revelations, leading you to start to re-write your story.

Example: You say, "I really have been brainwashing myself for a while, I think, by just repeatedly telling myself that I'm incompetent and don't know what I'm doing. It's been happening for so long that it has just become normal for me and I don't even notice it anymore. I wonder if I do that because my teachers were always just pointing out the things I had done wrong, but didn't really put much effort into trying to build me up."

Benefits of Collaboration

Imagine the difference between listening to a Driver's Ed lecture versus taking driving lessons. Your active involvement in the process is what allows you to not only fully grasp the information, but also know how to put the new knowledge into practice and start to feel competent with this new skill. Similarly, by actively engaging in an assessment, you not only get your questions answered, but also start a transformational process toward wellness.