Assessment of a Couple or Family Case
Select one of the following couple or family cases:
Sadie and Madeline Case Scenario.
Select a family therapy model that you would use with the case you chose and use that model to develop additional questions you would ask to gather more information.
Discuss the presenting issue(s) and overarching treatment goals as well as specific treatment objectives.
Part of the focus of this assignment is to examine your own experience with, and reactions to, the two assessments administered for the case you chose. Administer the two assessment instruments to yourself (do not administer the assessment to another person or persons). If you are not in a couple relationship at this time, choose assessments that assess mental health or your family of origin.
Another option is to use a past couple relationship you have been in or create a fictional relationship when completing the assessment. Then read the reviews/descriptions of the assessment in the readings and the instructions for scoring in the Couple and Family Assessment Resource Folder and perform the following actions:
Describe what it was like taking the instruments. Were the instructions clear? Did the assessment instruments possess face validity?
Report the key test measurement constructs of reliability and validity for the assessments.
Review and describe how results of the assessments are interpreted. For example, describe how scores are obtained and interpreted in comparison to group means and norms (for a standardized or norm-referenced test) or to cutoff scores (for criterion referenced test).
Summarize the relevance, utility, reliability and validity of the specific assessment devices.
Analyze how diversity impacts the couple or family, and the therapeutic process.
Finally, comment on ethical use of assessment in couple and family therapy practice and any potential ethical issues in accordance with the AAMFT Code of Ethics.
