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Assessment Interview

The Clinical Family Assessment Interview

The following format serves as a way to organize your initial assessment interview with the family. There are questions/goals in each section that you [the counselor(s)] should address – some need to be addressed before beginning the interview (BI) and some will be addressedduring the interview (DI).

Phase One – Identification

  • Goal: to help family decide who should be involved in the assessment & treatment processes
  • What are the specific characteristics about this family that must be considered before moving forward? (BI)

Phase Two – Introduction

  • Goal: to reduce family’s anxiety
  • Frame and acknowledge the importance of the family’s role as “knowledgeable consultants”
  • What is important to discuss in this first session? (BI)
  • What rules need to be established? (BI/DI)
  • What is important for us to know about this family before we begin? (DI)

Phase Three – Strengths Assessment

  • Goal: family members will identify healthy ways the family (or IP) is meeting current needs
  • Reinforce the power of the family system and what is going well while not “glossing over” presenting concerns (DI)
  • Identify ways the family (or IP) can get needs met w/o acting out (DI)
  • Identify and encourage continued ways in which the family (or IP) is acting positively (DI)

Phase Four – Behavior Hx

  • Goal: to determine the extent of the acting out behaviors
  • Who is/are the IP(s)? What is it that this individual does that impacts the family? (DI)
  • Be sure to use a holistic assessment with a multi-modal/multi-method perspective (BI/DI)
  • View behaviors within the family system (DI)
  • Identify positive behaviors and encourage the repeat of such behaviors (DI)

Phase Five – Reestablishing

  • Goal: to insure that sufficient data has been gathered
  • Insure that the family believes that sufficient information has been provided to describe the problematic behaviors and the context in which these behaviors occur (DI)
  • Teach IP how to ask for help (help members to communicates and re-establish commitment to each other) (DI)
  • Recap what has been said and accomplished (DI)

Phase Six – Conclusion

  • Goal: to help the family gain a sense of closure
  • Recap the session’s highlights & agreements (DI)
  • Discuss any further thoughts or concerns (DI)
  • Discuss and plan for possible increases in negative behaviors (DI)

After the session

  • Goal: to determine what needs to happen next
  • What diagnoses would you give the IP and/or the family (include a GARF)?Provide justifications.
  • Identify at least 2 treatment goals with two objectives to meet each goal (must match the diagnosis)
  • Identify some possible approaches to working with this family..