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Assessment in Counseling Lecture 1

Counselors use assessment in various ways to better understand clients and address their needs. Assessment involves collecting data through tests, interviews, and other methods to evaluate characteristics and draw inferences. It is a systematic process used for diagnostic, treatment planning, and evaluative purposes. Assessment became an important part of counseling as tests were developed in the late 1800s/early 1900s to measure intelligence and other traits. Counselors must be properly trained to select, administer, and interpret assessments while considering limitations and client factors.

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42 views

Assessment in Counseling Lecture 1

Counselors use assessment in various ways to better understand clients and address their needs. Assessment involves collecting data through tests, interviews, and other methods to evaluate characteristics and draw inferences. It is a systematic process used for diagnostic, treatment planning, and evaluative purposes. Assessment became an important part of counseling as tests were developed in the late 1800s/early 1900s to measure intelligence and other traits. Counselors must be properly trained to select, administer, and interpret assessments while considering limitations and client factors.

Uploaded by

kenzieac26
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Assessment in

Counseling
Spring 2021
SUNY OLD WESTBURY
Dr. Betti Stanco
Use of Assessment in Counseling
Answer questions including:

 What is assessment?
 What are the different ways counselors use

assessment in their work?


 How did assessment become an important

part of counseling?
Introduction to Assessment
 Individuals are recipients and participants of
assessment data which occurs in various settings (e.g.
tests/exams, report cards, interviews, sharing
symptoms with doc).
 Counseling helps students with academic/career
planning based on tests results.
 Now expanded to various concerns (self-esteem,
shyness, relationships, depression, anxiety, sexual
identity, sexual abuse, substance abuse, eating
disorders, suicidal ideation etc.)
 Program planning and evaluation
 Helps clients clarify goals and gain sense of perspective
and support
Key Assessment Terms
 Client: individual or groups being assessed in
various settings (agencies, clinics, schools,
colleges)
 Client may also refer to places or settings or be
associated with objects or things (drop out rates,
violence, trauma)
 Assessment
 Tests
 Measurements
 Variable
 Psychometrics
Assessment
 Systematic method of obtaining information
from tests or other sources used to draw
inferences about characteristics of people,
objects, programs
 Evaluation method used by counselors to

better understand characteristics of people,


places, things
 Interchangeable with appraisal and evaluation
 Goal is to obtain data
 Involves problem solving
Assessment
 Assessment is both a science and an art
 Broad process of tool selection, administration,
integration, and interpretation of data to form
a testable hypothesis regarding the client’s
issues and treatment approaches
 Broad range of evaluation methods
Standardized tests
Rating scales
Observations
Interviews
Records
Assessment Categories
 Intelligence assessment: evaluation of
cognitive abilities
 Communication, reasoning, abstract thought,

learning, problem solving, memory


 Several definitions of intelligence
Assessment Categories
 Ability assessment: assessment of acquired
information (achievement) or the ability to
acquire information (aptitude) about a
particular subject
 Used for educational purposes
Assessment Categories
 Career assessment: measures a client’s career
development process
 Process-oriented variables include career

readiness, concerns, planning, maturity


Assessment Categories
 Personality Assessment: measures individual
attributes, types, and traits related to
cognitions, emotions, actions, attitudes
 Structured (objective) or unstructured

(projective)
Tests
 Only one aspect of assessment
 A systematic and often standardized process

for sampling and describing a behavior of


individuals or groups
 Can be interpreted in reference to a test

takers previous performance (self-


referenced), an objective criteria, or a
standardization sample
 Questionnaires (self-report)
 Inventories
Measurement
 Degree to which client possesses some
characteristic
 Quantitative units
 Scales of measurement

Nominal
Ordinal
Interval
Ratio
Variable
 Construct or concept that can take on more than one
value
 Quantitative or qualitative
 Quantitative – continuous variable such as test score,
age, rank
 Qualitative – categorical variable such as gender,
ethnicity, hair color
 Independent variable: manipulated and assumed to
influence some outcome
 Dependent variable: outcome or response variable
 Extraneous/confounding variable: impacts a dependent
variable but is unrelated to the assessment process
Purpose of Assessment in
Counseling
 Provides information to counselor and client so
they can understand and respond to concerns
 Serve a diagnostic use
 Evaluates client progress
 Improve/promote client awareness,

knowledge, and skills


 Classification
 Diagnosis and treatment planning
 Self-knowledge
 Program evaluation
5 Assessment and Problem-Solving
Steps
1. Problem Orientation: stimulate counselor and client to
consider various issues (needs assessment such as
alcohol screening inventory to identify areas of focus)
2. Problem Identification: clarify the nature of a problem
or issue (classify a set of symptoms through diagnosis
such as an anxiety disorder)
3. Generation of Alternatives: suggest alternative solutions
(identify positive self-statements to create alternatives)
4. Decision Making: determine appropriate treatment (use
a personality inventory to help select information)
5. Verification: the effectiveness of a particular solution
(client feedback used to make changes)
Test Limitations
 Tests cannot measure unique characteristics, only
attributes common to many people
 Tests cannot measure all things equally (some constructs
are easier to measure than others)
 Tests are only one sampling of an area
 Individual tests cannot be used to make group
comparisons
 Test results are not always useful and may be
misinterpreted or misused in decision-making
 Tests are not free from cultural bias
 Counselors need to be aware of these limitations and
must obtain appropriate training and supervision for the
tests they plan to use!
History of Assessment
 In the late 1800s experimental psychologists
(Wundt, Galton, Cattell) revolutionized the
way intelligence and ability were measured
 Developed the term mental test
 First intelligence test developed was Binet-

Simon Scale (1905)


 Mental age (mental level) led to the

development of the intelligence quotient (IQ)


 Individual and group IQ tests used to screen

army recruits during World War I


Developments in Personality
Assessment
 Woodworth Personal Data Sheet used during World
War I to screen for mental health problems (“do
ideas run through your head so you cannot sleep?”)
 Rorschach Inkblot test: projective, psychoanalytic-
based technique that reveal unconscious processes
 Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
 House-Tree-Person
 Sentence Completion
 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
(MMPI-2) currently used
Assessment Usage in Counseling
Settings
 Selection of instruments depends on:
Professional discipline
Type of client issue
Need to show effectiveness
Referral question
Previous testing experiences
Test’s psychometric properties
Graduate training experience
Theoretical orientation
Test availability
Assessment Usage in Counseling
Settings
 Mental health agencies commonly use:
Beck Depression Inventory
Beck Anxiety Inventory
WAIS
WISC
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
Mini-Mental State Examination
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory
Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire
Strong Interest Inventory
MMPI-2
General Guidelines
 Be aware of the strengths and limitations of the assessment
procedures, including psychometric properties
 Understand the theoretical construct or condition being
measured
 Be well-versed in all aspects of test use (selection,
administration, interpretation, communication of results)
 Use several methods of assessment in order to provide a
broader view of the issue
 Use quantitative and qualitative tools
 Consider the influence of individual factors such as age,
gender, education level, ethnicity/culture on test results
 Be aware of cultural or personal biases that may influence
assessment decisions
 Consider alternative hypotheses

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