Clinical assessment uses four methods. Briefly describe how each would be used in collecting information on the following hypothetical client: Mara is a 16-year-old who is angry and anxious at home and in school but seems relatively happy among her friends when shopping or doing other leisure activities. She seems extremely bright to her teachers but is receiving poor grades because she seems

Question

distracted and unable to recall facts. Her interest in boys has been almost obsessive recently; she fantasizes about being saved from her horrible parents by someone who will marry and whisk her away.

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The four assessment methods are observation, interview, psychological tests, and neurological tests. In Mara's case, the psychologist could collect direct observations of her in the school, home, and office environments to see whether there is consistency in her behaviors and emotions. The psychologist would look at Mara's dress, facial expressions, posture, activity level, speech, and voice tone to get a full picture of her emotional state in different settings. Observations by others—teachers, parents, friends, and Mara herself—could deepen the psychologist's appreciation of her situation. A nondirective interview would allow Mara to express what she is feeling and emphasize the problems she thinks are most important. Using a more structured interview, the psychologist would present her with a set of questions to assess her mental status (does she really believe her fantasies are based in fact?) and get a clearer idea about her diagnosis. Interviews with parents, teachers, and friends could reveal how consistent her problems are and how distressing. Psychological tests could range from projective tests such as the TAT and Rorschach to self-report inventories such as the MMPI-2 . The projective tests would reveal unconscious motives; the MMPI-2 would show general personality patterns. Intelligence tests like the WAIS-IV might be given to see whether her poor grades are due to a lack of intellectual capacity or a learning disability. Neurological tests might also reveal a cognitive impairment that accounts for her poor memory and attention span.