Introduction to Therapeutic Assessment: Using Psychological Testing as Brief Psychotherapy - Stephen E. Finn, PhD

Psychological assessment has typically been viewed as something one does to diagnosis psychological disorders or to plan for or evaluate an intervention. However, in the last 20 years, a new paradigm developed by Constance Fischer and Stephen Finn is sweeping the assessment world, in which psychological testing is viewed as a brief powerful intervention with clients and their important others. After a recent meta-analysis, Poston and Hanson (2010) concluded: “Clinicians should … seek out continuing-education training related to [Therapeutic Assessment]. Those who engage in assessment and testing as usual may miss out, it seems, on a golden opportunity to effect client change and enhance clinically important treatment processes” (p. 210). In this introductory workshop, Dr. Finn will explain how Therapeutic Assessment works and will present the different steps for how to conduct this method in practice. In addition to the presentation of didactic material and discussion, Dr. Finn will show video vignettes from his sessions with clients to demonstrate the power and impact of his model. Case illustrations will be drawn from both adult and child assessments. The workshop assumes some familiarity with standard psychological assessment instruments such as the WAIS-IV, the MMPI-2, the Rorschach, and the TAT and is the introductory step toward the practice of and certification in Therapeutic Assessment.

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