Course: Appraisal and Testing for Counselors
Individual Referral Report
Assignment Directions and Scoring
Introduced: Week Two
Due: Last day of Week 13, Monday night midnight
This assignment is worth 100 points.
Introduction
As mental health professionals, it is imperative that we know and understand ourselves, and that we understand the ‘character variables’ that we as individuals present in subsequent helping relationships with clients. This course will provide you with the opportunity to engage in the process of your own individual assessment. This assignment has two objectives: First, you will complete an assessment battery of selected assessments and will analyze the results; and second, you will formulate a professional referral. This assignment will be uploaded directly to the instructor for privacy reasons.
The increasing emphasis on accountability has led to an expanding need for counselors to document and substantiate the value of their work. A survey of administrators of mental health agencies indicated that “ability to write clearly, concisely, and in a professional style” was one of the three most important skills they sought in masters level counselors (Seligman, 1996, p. 299).
Psychological reports provide the mental health practitioner with a comparable in-depth view of the subject. The report can clarify personality dynamics and explain overt behavior. It is capable of providing answers to differential diagnostic issues and pointing a finger at possible etiology. A good report can explain the effects of the interaction of cognitive and intellectual factors upon personality – it provides a perspective on the dynamic factors that exist below the overt behavior of the client. The report also provides for a normative comparison concerning the functioning of an individual and an integrated and coherent presentation of relatively objective data. The hypotheses and recommendations can be formulated from the information provided from a psychological report.
These reports are typically 3-4 single spaced pages in length. They are in clear, concise, and short sections that are technically written in short succinct sentences. They are written in the third person always and are person-focused, and not test- or theory-focused. They do not use adverbs or adjectives unless it is necessary in the case formulation. They are focused on integration of the information.
Usually components of the psych report include information on who the client is, the reason for referral, presenting problems, the assessment instruments, background information on the client, behavioral observations during the assessment, the client’s intellectual and cognitive functioning, personality (cognitive, intrapsychic, and interpersonal), diagnostic impressions, recommendations, and a summary.
Directions
This is a very concise, technical paper. Please be as formal and brief as possible. It should not exceed four pages. It is a report that utilizes your own historical information as well as information from the self-administered battery of tests you completed. Be sure to use this as a mental health referral, not a reference for graduate school, or new employment readiness. The paper will be an automatic fail if it is not mental health centered. You should use an alias for the Client name, and your own name for the Counselor, even though the Client information is from your own tests.
- In Week Four, please be sure that you have received your packet of information and assessments. The packets will be mailed to the addresses listed in ISIS, so please check this information and correct it if need be.
- Administer all are self-administered, scored, interpreted and summarized in this report. All assessments listed should be included. If you have taken other assessments that are current (such as in your Group course, or in your Career course) you may use those results as well.
- The following format should be used for your paper:
a. List of Tests Administered
1. NEO IPIP (follow link to online site)(intrapsychic information)
2. BYI (Beck Youth Inventories - Even though they are for Youth, they are valid for you).
3. MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Inventory)
4. TKI (Thomas-Kilman Conflict Mode Instrument)
6. SCL-90-R (templates are at the MCC library, Homewood front desk, and at the Columbia Center library – at each location, simply sign them out, then return them. They may not leave the building. )
7. Kuder Inventory (Career Inventory taken online)
8. Mental Status Exam
9. IQ Tests, choose one or more (GIQ Test, IQ Test Lab, IQ Test Online, Adaptive IQ Test) The GIQ is $10, but you get a nice print out and It may be one of the more accurate non-clinical versions.
b. Reasoning for Evaluation (paragraph of explanation – ex. “Client is showing signs of anxiety…”)
c. Background (Paragraph of information about the client’s recent activities and personal perspective associated with the problem)
d. Clinical Impressions of Client (paragraph using information from the Mini Mental Status Exam categories and a general clinical impression)
e. Test-Taking Behavior (one short paragraph of specific observed test-taking behaviors)
f. Assessment of Abilities (one paragraph for substantial section where you tie the information together and organize it so that it is a coherent summary) This paragraph includes the results of the IQ tests above from #9.
g. Assessment of Personality (one paragraph for a substantial section where you tie the information together and organize it so that it is a coherent summary; this may be a longer section)(MBTI, IPIP NEO, TKI are required here)
h. Diagnostic Assessments (one paragraph for a substantial section where you tie the information together and organize it so that it is a coherent summary)(this section is not included in the sample, it is written in similar fashion as the others (Beck Youth individual scales, and SCL 90 R are summarized here; any diagnosis from the SCL 90 R will be charted on the DSM in addition to covering it here)
i. Interests and Values (one paragraph that summarizes any interest inventories taken in the past) (What are the personal values of the client? What are the client’s current interest and motivation? Kuder Inventories of values and interests, and the * Strong Inventory from the Career Course is also used here if you have itavailable *)
j.Five Axial Diagnosis, if any. Be sure you understand how to fill this out. Read the first two chapters of the DSM if you are not sure.
k. Any areas of potential interest in your assessment scores, or any that are unexpected.
l. Recommendations for working on any areas of concern
5. The paper should be written in report format. This is easily seen in the sample report in the callout box. There will be one point taken for each grammatical errors and typos. As well, the paper should have one-inch margins, and use 12 point Times New Roman font. Your name, course name and number, date, and my name will be placed at the very end of the paper, just as in the sample. Proofread your paper well. It should look exactly like the sample report, and be no longer.
6. The body of the paper should be no more than 4 single-spaced pages. No exceptions. Be sure to write concisely.
7. This paper is due the end of Week 13, on Monday night midnight.
8. Submit your final paper to the Gradebook by the due date. It may be submitted early, if desired.
Scoring
Criteria / Poor / Emergent / Proficient / Superior / EarnedList of Assessments / 0-1 / 2-3 / 3-4 / 5 / 5
Reason for Evaluation / 0-1 / 2-3 / 3-4 / 5 / 5
Background / 0-1 / 2-3 / 3-4 / 5 / 5
Impressions of Client / 0-1 / 2-3 / 3-4 / 5 / 5
Test-Taking Behavior / 1-2 / 2-3 / 3-4 / 4-5 / 5
Assessment of Ability / 1-3 / 4-6 / 7-8 / 9-10 / 10
Assessment of Personality / 1-4 / 5-8 / 9-12 / 13-15 / 15
Diagnostic Assessments / 1-4 / 5-8 / 9-12 / 13-15 / 15
Interest and Values / 0-1 / 2-3 / 3-4 / 5 / 5
Diagnosis / 0-1 / 2-3 / 3-4 / 5 / 5
Areas of Potential Interest / 0-1 / 2-3 / 3-4 / 5 / 5
Recommendations / 0-1 / 2-3 / 3-4 / 5 / 5
Report Format and Style / 0-1 / 2-3 / 3-4 / 5 / 5
Grammar and Typos / 0-1 / 2-3 / 3-4 / 5 / 5
Total (100)