ABSTRACT
It is a strange aspect of the counselling and psychotherapeutic profession that intake and review sessions are rarely discussed in any detail. Many trainees embark on their first experience of working with a client without any clear instructions as to what assessment has already been made by the referring agent, if there is one, or what to do about assessment themselves if the client has not been referred to them. Experienced psychotherapists and counsellors tend to avoid conducting assessments on behalf of other practitioners. Malan’s high opinion of the art of assessment has not been shared to the extent that practitioners seek to become specialists in the discipline. In this book, the practice of assessment has been described as an ongoing process between client and practitioner which underlies the intake interviews and review sessions described in Chapter 2. A particular format (see Table 3a) for assessment is offered to practitioners, after more general considerations with regard to theoretical and diagnostic considerations have been discussed. Although designed for practitioners using the time-conscious approach, it could be adapted for use as a checklist by other practitioners.
