ABSTRACT
The justification for taking time to assess patients before embarking on psychotherapy rests on three assumptions, the first and last of which I judge to be true and the second to be wholly desirable. Psychotherapy-being an active intervention-has the potential to harm and to help as well as being simply inappropriate for certain disorders. The first justification, then, is to determine within the limitations of the assessment process broad suitability for psychotherapy. The second assumption justifies detailed assessment. Matching patient need to therapy type and therapist is good professional practice but can only be done if a range of therapies and therapists is available-as it should be. Third, assessment may be therapeutic and in itself a sufficient experience for some patients (Aveline 1994; Malan et al., 1975).
