ABSTRACT
A CBT assessment collects relevant information about the client's presenting problems and this information distilled into a case conceptualization. Taylor suggests that 'a good assessment provides the beginnings of a sound therapeutic relationship'. A first assessment may take a couple of sessions or more to complete but, in practice, assessment continues throughout therapy to refine the case conceptualization. Assessment is where problems are usually converted into disorders based on diagnostic criteria found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). There are three areas to cover in an assessment. First detailed understanding of the presenting problem. Second how the problem supported and Third longitudinal perspective Assessment evolves into a case conceptualization as the therapist and client discuss, using the cognitive model, how past and present interact to produce and, crucially, support the latter's current difficulties and seek to devise a proper treatment plan to tackle her problems and make her goals.
