Therapeutic Assessment in Clinical and Counseling Psychology Practice

Contemporary psychological testing and assessment practice is increasingly influenced by scholarly writings on collaborative and therapeutic assessment approaches for assessing clients and discussing the findings with them, reflecting a paradigm shift toward active and continual assessor–client collaboration. A formal Therapeutic Assessment (TA) model developed by Finn is supported by a substantial and growing literature of empirical research and published case studies, and numerous applications have also been described in conference presentations and training workshops. This body of work demonstrates the use of TA in assessing adult clients, children, adolescents, and families, and includes applications in neuropsychological and forensic assessment contexts. This chapter will provide an overview of the core principles and methods of Therapeutic Assessment, review the empirical evidence for it, describe the range of applications, and discuss future directions.