ABSTRACT
Stephen E. Finn describes how as a sensitive boy who loved animals, music, and learning, he struggled socially and felt ashamed, especially as he became aware that he was gay. Fortunately, caring people supported him, and he bolstered self-esteem by achieving and working hard. He went to Haverford College, where he was exposed to Quaker values, got into psychotherapy, and became fascinated by psychology. He came to love psychological assessment during his doctoral training at the University of Minnesota. Early experiences convinced him of the potential therapeutic power of assessment, and as a faculty member at the University of Texas, he began to develop and research Therapeutic Assessment (TA), a semi-structured model of collaborative psychological assessment used as a short-term intervention. The latter half of my career focused on refining and spreading TA, which now is practiced around the world.
