ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews an approach to the initial interview and assessment of a child client coming for an evaluation for trauma and dissociation. Three basic assumptions underlie the assessment approach-that whatever symptoms the client has have been necessary for basic survival; that as the environment changes, these will no longer be necessary; and it is consistent with the child’s own goals to promote this change for themselves. Together with the child or teen, the therapist and child explore the powerful forces in the environment that contribute to the child or adolescent’s symptom profile. The existence of a significant trauma history is acknowledged in a matter-of-fact way, although a narrative of this trauma is not required in an early session. The child’s own goals, interests and views of themselves and the world are front and center, and the therapist joins with the child in valuing the things the child most cares about. The therapist helps identify important changes in their life, changes in their moods and behaviors, and this begins a process of introspection about their reactions. This initial session serves as a way to bond with the client and to move further towards exploration of the possible existence of a hidden dissociative world.
