ABSTRACT
There is much overlap and crossing of boundaries. It is important to identify clearly what the difference is between social assessment and assessment based on psychological and psychiatric theoretical models. This chapter firstly distinguishes psychological and psychiatric assessments from social assessment based on critical auto/biography (CA/B). Secondly, it reviews social work assessment in relation to CA/B methods and thirdly examines issues of multi-professional practice. It is argued that the CA/B framework provides a basis for a distinctive theoretical approach to social assessment, which is a compelling requirement for workers and users contending with the overwhelming status of the medical, psychiatric, psychological and legal establishments. Workers making such assessments may be part of the mental health system or may be outside it, since issues pertaining to psychology and psychiatry are not confined to persons labelled as ‘mentally ill’.
