How to Coach Yourself and Others Empowering Coaching And Crisis Interventions | Page 16

This book is in B&W, not color - Print page in Grayscale for Correct view! In case of an intake, it usually takes place within 30 days of intake and screening and contains such components as: - It should be conducted by a qualified individual with the appropriate credentials required by the licensing authority. - The assessment should be culturally and linguistically appropriate for the individual and the family, taking into consideration the family’s level of acculturation and assimilation; their cultural world views of health/wellness, illness, and treatment; and their values, traditions, beliefs, rituals, and practices. In addition, it should be conducted in the preferred language and in a setting that is conducive to the most cooperation from, and ease for both the individual and the family. In general, assessment must be individualized to meet the needs and identify the strengths of the person assessed. As with all interventions, informed consent must be sought and properly documented. The Assessment Interview To provide an accurate picture of the client’s needs, a clinical assessment interview requires sensitivity on the part of the counselor and considerable time to complete thoroughly. While treatment program staff may have limited time or feel pressure to conduct initial psychosocial histories quickly, it is important to portray to clients that you have sufficient time to devote to the process. The assessment interview is the beginning of the therapeutic relationship and helps set the tone for treatment. Initially, the interviewer should explain the reason for and role of a psychosocial history. It is equally important that the counselor or intake worker incorporate screening results into the interview, and make the appropriate referrals within and/or outside the agency to comprehensively address presenting issues. For instance: the notion that a person’s substance use is not an isolated behavior but occurs in response to, and affects, other behaviors and areas of their lifes is an important concept to introduce during the intake phase. This information can easily disarm a client’s defensiveness regarding use and consequences of use. General Guidelines of Assessment  Similar to the screening process, the individual assessed should know the purpose of the assessment.  To conduct a good quality assessment, counselors need to value and invest in the therapeutic alliance with the client. Challenging, disagreeing, being overly invested in the outcome, or vocalizing and assuming a specific diagnosis without an appropriate evaluation can quickly erode any potential for a good working relationship with the client.  The assessment process should include various methods of gathering information: clinical interview; assessment tools including rating scales; behavioral samples through examples of previous behavior or direct observation; collateral information from previous treatment providers, family members, or other agencies (with client permission); and retrospective data including previous evaluations, discharge summaries, etc.  Assessment is only as good as the ability to follow through with the recommendations.  Assessments need to incorporate socio-cultural factors that may influence behavior in the assessment process, interpretation of the results, and compliance with recommendations. For [email protected] Property of Bookemon, do NOT distribute 16