Treatment planning involves the integration of assessment information concerning the person’s drinking behavior, alcohol–related problems, and other areas of psychological and social functioning to assist the client and clinician to develop and prioritize short– and long–term goals for treatment, select the most appropriate interventions to address the identified problems, determine and address perceived barriers to treatment engagement and compliance, and monitor progress toward the specified goals, which will typically include abstinence and/or harm reduction and improved psychosocial functioning (P.M. Miller and Mastria 1977; L.C. Sobell et al. 1982; Washousky et al. 1984; L.C. Sobell et al. 1988; Bois and Graham 1993).
Full Answer
What is the purpose of assessment and treatment planning?
The assessment and treatment planning process should lead to the individualization of treatment, appropriate client–treatment matching, and the monitoring of goal attainment (Allen and Mattson 1993).
What is a drug assessment?
CONDUCTING AN ASSESSMENT Assessmentis the process of obtaining information about the patient's drug use and how it is affecting his or her life. It is an essential part of treatment and care for people who use drugs.
What is the primary goal of assessment in nursing?
Within the clinical context, the primary goal of assessment is to determine those characteristics of the client and his or her life situation that may influence treatment decisions and contribute to the success of treatment (Allen 1991). Additionally, assessment procedures are crucial to the treatment planning process.
How should the treatment plan be developed?
The treatment plan should be developed using the stepped care approach. Stepped care involves matching treatment to patients based on the least intensive intervention that is expected to be effective.
How do you write an assessment and treatment plan?
Treatment plans usually follow a simple format and typically include the following information:The patient's personal information, psychological history and demographics.A diagnosis of the current mental health problem.High-priority treatment goals.Measurable objectives.A timeline for treatment progress.More items...•
What is assessment in treatment?
Assessment is the process of obtaining information about the patient's drug use and how it is affecting his or her life. It is an essential part of treatment and care for people who use drugs.
Why is assessment and evaluation an important part of the treatment process?
Assessment is a more indepth evaluation that confirms the presence of a problem, determines its severity, and specifies treatment options for addressing the problem. It also surveys client strengths and resources for addressing life problems.
How can existing client assessment data be useful in effective treatment planning?
Screening and assessment data provide information that is integrated by the clinician and the client in the treatment planning process. Screening and assessment data also are useful in establishing a client's baseline of signs, symptoms, and behaviors that can then be used to assess progress.
How do counselors use assessments?
Assessment is used as a basis for identifying problems, planning interventions, evaluating and/or diagnosing clients, and informing clients and stakeholders. Many novice counselors may make the mistake of identifying assessment as a means to an end, such as providing a label or diagnosis to a client.
How does client assessment inform Counselling work?
In fact, assessment in counselling helps you to check that the client is able and willing to engage with therapy, that your competence level and area matches the client's needs, and whether there are any areas of risk that you need to consider.
What is needs assessment in counseling process?
A needs assessment is a scientific method school counselors use to determine and understand the nature and cause of student needs. It allows counselors to devise programs that effectively and specifically address those needs.
What is evaluation in assessment?
Assessment is feedback from the student to the instructor about the student's learning. Evaluation uses methods and measures to judge student learning and understanding of the material for purposes of grading and reporting. Evaluation is feedback from the instructor to the student about the student's learning.
How do you do a clinical assessment?
AssessmentStep 1: Review Clinical History. ... Step 2: Excluding other factors. ... Step 3: Neurological examination. ... Step 4: Nutrition and hydration. ... Step 5: Positioning and posture. ... Step 6: Respiration and swallowing. ... Step 7: Behavioural assessment techniques. ... Step 8: The behavioural assessment procedure.More items...
What information is important to document in a treatment plan?
A treatment plan will include the patient or client's personal information, the diagnosis (or diagnoses, as is often the case with mental illness), a general outline of the treatment prescribed, and space to measure outcomes as the client progresses through treatment.
Why is it important for a client to be involved in their treatment planning?
Treatment plans are important because they act as a map for the therapeutic process and provide you and your therapist with a way of measuring whether therapy is working. It's important that you be involved in the creation of your treatment plan because it will be unique to you.
What is an assessment process?
Assessment is the process of gathering and discussing information from multiple and diverse sources in order to develop a deep understanding of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences; the process culminates when assessment results are used to improve ...
What is assessment and treatment planning?
The assessment and treatment planning process should lead to the individualization of treatment, appropriate client–treatment matching, and the monitoring of goal attainment (Allen and Mattson 1993). The Institute of Medicine (1990) noted that treatment outcomes may be improved significantly by matching individuals to treatments based on variables assessed in the problem assessment and personal assessment stages of the comprehensive assessment process. Although the results of Project MATCH have raised questions about the viability of matching treatments to client attributes (Project MATCH Research Group 1997 a ), there was evidence on a number of variables, including anger, severity of concomitant psychiatric problems, and social support for drinking, that was sufficient to warrant continued attempts to identify potential matches between client characteristics and types of treatment (Project MATCH Research Group 1997 b, 1998). Similarly, there is evidence that matching therapeutic services to the presence, nature, and severity of problems clients present at treatment entry leads to improved outcomes (McLellan et al. 1997). Assessment at intake will continue to be instrumental in attempting to match clients to the most appropriate available treatment options; however, assessment also should be viewed as a continuous process that allows monitoring of treatment progress, refocusing and reprioritizing of treatment goals and interventions across time, and determination of outcome (Donovan 1988; Institute of Medicine 1990; L.C. Sobell et al. 1994 a; Donovan 1998).
What is the purpose of assessment in counseling?
Within the clinical context, the primary goal of assessment is to determine those characteristics of the client and his or her life situation that may influence treatment decisions and contribute to the success of treatment (Allen 1991). Additionally, assessment procedures are crucial to the treatment planning process. Treatment planning involves the integration of assessment information concerning the person’s drinking behavior, alcohol–related problems, and other areas of psychological and social functioning to assist the client and clinician to develop and prioritize short– and long–term goals for treatment, select the most appropriate interventions to address the identified problems, determine and address perceived barriers to treatment engagement and compliance, and monitor progress toward the specified goals, which will typically include abstinence and/or harm reduction and improved psychosocial functioning (P.M. Miller and Mastria 1977; L.C. Sobell et al. 1982; Washousky et al. 1984; L.C. Sobell et al. 1988; Bois and Graham 1993).
Why is screening important in alcoholism?
The goal of using screening instruments is, in fact, to increase the individual’s awareness and increase problem recognition. Such awareness is an important step in the process to initiate behavior change and treatment–seeking behavior (Donovan and Rosengren 1999; Tucker and King 1999).
Is the FTQ reliable?
The FTQ has been shown to have satisfactory reliability with alcohol abusers and normal drinkers. The reliability of subjects’ classification of paternal and maternal first–degree and second–degree relatives of alcoholic and non–alcoholic subjects was examined. Results indicated that both alcoholics and non–alcoholic subjects reliably classified their relatives as alcoholics or problem drinkers over a 2–week test–retest interval (R.E. Mann et al. 1985). Similar high levels of test–retest reliability were found in classification of family members even over an approximately 4–month interval (Vogel–Sprott et al. 1985). Using liberal criteria (e.g., relative known to be a problem drinker) provided a more sensitive basis for the diagnosis of relatives’ alcohol problems than more stringent criteria (e.g., relative definitely an alcoholic with reported consequences or prior treatment) (R.E. Mann et al. 1985). Evidence for this questionnaire’s validity derives from the fact that alcohol abusers had a higher number of family history–positive relatives than non–alcohol–abusing subjects. Alcoholics in treatment with a positive family history of alcoholism, as assessed by the FTQ, had an earlier onset of drinking, higher indices of quantity and frequency of drinking, a greater preoccupation with drinking, a more sustained drinking pattern, more serious negative psychosocial consequences from drinking, and a greater reliance on alcohol to manage their moods than those alcoholics without a history of familial alcoholism (Worobec et al. 1990).
Why is it important to involve clients in case conceptualization and treatment planning?
Hays notes that involving clients in case conceptualization and treatment planning also allows for better cultural understanding and responsiveness. Counselors have a significant responsibility to get a client’s story right, she says, and “getting the story right involves co-constructing it with the client in a way that honors their cultural experiences as well as points of trauma and resilience.”
How to stay informed in counseling?
Karl urges clinicians to stay informed and up to date by attending workshops, conferences and other continuing education events; consulting regularly with professional peers; seeking mentorship or supervision; joining professional Listservs; and reading counseling journals and other publications. Remaining active with state and local counseling organizations will also help practitioners stay abreast of criteria and processes that vary state to state, she notes. Leadership within the counseling profession must ensure that funding for continuing education on assessment, diagnosis and treatment planning is prioritized, especially for counselors in economically disadvantaged or rural areas and settings where practices or clinics are short-staffed, Karl adds.
Why is diagnosis important to Keller?
Diagnosis is a tool that allows her to understand how she can initially help her clients, and it guides her interventions and therapeutic approach as treatment progresses. It can also remove financial barriers to mental health care. Counseling can be expensive, and insurance companies typically require a diagnosis for reimbursement. So, Keller views diagnosis as a way of providing treatment access for clients who wouldn’t be able to afford counseling without insurance coverage.
What is Keller's key to psychoeducation?
The key, Keller says, is to be fully transparent with clients and include them in the diagnostic process, especially for diagnoses that can carry a stigma, such as personality disorders, substance use disorders and eating disorders. In some cases, counselors may need to offer psychoeducation to dispel inaccuracies or stereotypes about a diagnosis.
What is the core of professional counseling?
Fully understanding a client’s situation, symptoms and needs and then matching them with a diagnosis (when appropriate) and a treatment plan that will help them heal, grow and thrive are core aspects of professional counseling. Counselors learn these skills, at least conceptually, in graduate school but gain true understanding of them through their direct work with clients.
How to help clients with eating disorders?
Clients presenting with symptoms of an eating disorder might respond with statements such as “I don’t want to fight my body anymore” or “I’m sick of hating my body,” Keller says. In this example, Keller and the client might work together to create a goal of improving the client’s body image in counseling. Later, once the client has made some progress on that goal and established a stronger therapeutic relationship with Keller, she will circle back to some of the issues that revealed themselves in the initial assessment session and try to tie those issues into the client’s treatment goals. If the client mentioned purging behavior or restrictive eating in the initial session, for example, Keller might gently raise the idea that this behavior could be something to work on as part of reaching the client’s goal of obtaining a healthy body image.
What is the most integrative and effective way to devise a rich treatment plan?
Practically applying that knowledge is “where the rubber hits the road,” says Ivers, a member of the American Counseling Association. Examining a client’s concerns in depth — moving beyond surface-level questions such as “How did this week go?” or “What do you want to talk about?” — is the most integrative and effective way to devise a rich treatment plan and pinpoint a destination that the client and practitioner will work toward together in therapy.
Why focus on occupational scales?
a. Focus on the Occupational Scales because they are the most reliable.
What chapter is the assessment of marriage and family?
Chapter 14: Assessment in Marriage and Family Coun…
What is assessment in counseling?
Assessment is inte-gral to the clinical interview. Assessment includes diagnosis and treatment planning. As counselors meet with their clients, they make decisions on what problems to address and what interventions to attempt. Hence, assessment permeates every aspect of the counsel-ing process.
What is AARC in counseling?
The AARC (formerly known as the Association for Assessment in Counseling [AAC] and the Association for Assessment in Counseling and Education [AACE]) is a division of the American Counseling Association (ACA), whose mission is “to promote and recognize excellence in assessment, research, and evaluation in counseling.” (AARC, 2012). AARC and ACA produced statements with respect to counselors’ use of standardized instru-ments. In addition to being a division of ACA, AARC represents counselors in a variety of work groups representing counselors’ interests in assessment, measurement, evaluation, and diagnosis. In addition, ACA appointed individuals from AARC/ACA to represent counselors on the Joint Committee on Testing Practices (JCTP). The JCTP was established in 1985, along with such groups as the American Educational Research Association, the National Council on Measurement in Education, and the American Psychological Associa-tion, to address testing practices in education and clinical settings. The JCTP disbanded in 2007, but it published several documents related to test use. In terms of practicing assess-ment, counselors should be aware of guidelines in the Responsibilities of Users of Stan-dardized Tests (RUST, Appendix H; Wall et al., 2003 ) , Standards for Qualifications of Test Users ( Erford, Basham, Cashwell, Juhnke, & Wall, 2003 ), and the ACA Code of Ethics ( ACA, 2005 ), as well as the qualification requirements for each test publisher.
Is assessment required for counseling?
8 ) required for all students in accredited coun-seling programs. Although counselors receive training and practice in assessment, the right for counselors to practice assessment is not a given, as such rights are dictated by state licensing boards. However, in general, counselors may use a variety of instruments, with projective assessments being the least available. Many state licensing boards have rules that prevent professionals outside of psychology from using projective tests, such as the Rorschach Technique (Pearson Assessments).
Problem Recognition, Motivation, and Readiness to Change
Alcohol–Related Expectancies and Self–Efficacy
Perceived Locus of Control of Drinking Behavior
Measures of Family History of Alcohol Problems
Extra–Treatment Social Support
Multidimensional Assessment Measures
Measures to Assist in Differential Treatment Placement
Summary
- This chapter’s review of instruments potentially helpful in the treatment planning process should not be seen as exhaustive. Other measures of similar assessment domains likely exist and may be useful to the clinician. There are also a number of other important assessment domains that were not included in this review. Examples include affective sta...
Acknowledgments
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