Selection of Appropriate Test and Assessment
Introduction
In a clinical setting, psychologists administer psychological tests and assessments to collect information about individual characteristics and capabilities for diagnosis and treatment (Ronald, 2017). This essay is about the selection of appropriate psychological tests and assessments.
What resources are available to assist counselors in the selection of the appropriate psychological tests and assessment for a client?
In psychological tests and assessments, counselors rely on a variety of resources and methods, and the relevance of the sources is determined by the specific purpose of the test or assessment (Cohen, Swerdik, & Sturman, 2013). Some of the resources available to therapists in the selection of appropriate tests include behavioral observations, interviews with the client, interviews with collaborative sources such as friends, families, and teachers, and published resources.
Interviews with the client, family, or friends: According to (Ronald, 2017), probing the client is the primary resource available to a counselor when it comes to selecting the appropriate test/ assessment to administer. A client provides first-hand information. Also, conducting interviews with collaborative sources such as members of the family, friends, and teachers of the client help select the appropriate test to administer. Such clinical interviews provide a firm foundation for most psychological tests, for they identify the nature of a patient’s presenting problems.
Behavioral observations: According to (Corey, 2014), behavioral observation enables a therapist to determine the type of psychological test suiting the client based on his/her presenting behavior. Typically, counselors used this resource by observing the client’s actions, for example, whether the client is calm, nervous, and able to maintain eye contact, smug, cooperative, and anxious. Also, a counselor might rely on behavioral observations to determine the suitable and appropriate treatment for a given client.
Published reports: In the clinical field, there are many published occupational, medical, legal, and educational records that psychologists can collect from referral sources and also online. Also, there are records that counselors can quickly gather from other agencies, but only the relevant records can be used. According to (Hill, Suzuki, & Naqvi, 2014), these assist assessors in determining the particular abilities, strengths, challenges, and weaknesses of a client based on the published records/ reports. Using this information, counselors easily identify the most critical areas to probe to understand the functional ability and level of a client.
What are four to five important diagnostic factors a counselor should consider when selecting a psychological test for a client?
When selecting a psychological test for a client, counselors have to take into account certain diagnostic factors. These factors include potential acceptability to clients, the accuracy of the test measures, suitability of the test to client’s needs, user’s knowledge/competence for the test being used, and cost of test materials (Salvi, Leese, & Slade, 2005).
Acceptability to clients: In choosing a psychological test for a client, counselors must assess whether the client is comfortable with the tool or not (Ronald, 2017). Administering a test that a client is not comfortable….Read More….
How can a counselor determine that a specific test is an appropriate test for a client’s demographics?
To determine that a specific test is appropriate for a client’s needs, a counselor can rely on experience, an indication from DSM and other legitimate sources, training, further education, and consultation with other professionals.
Experience of the therapist: Typically, content validity helps counselors determine the appropriateness of a test to an individual client’s demographics. An experienced or competent counselor can tell whether or not a test suits a client’s needs based on their experience of similar encounters (Hill, Suzuki, & Naqvi, 2014).
An indication from legitimate sources: One of the most common diagnostic tools in therapy is the DSM-5 tool (Corey, 2014). Other diagnostic tools such as the WASC-3, Q-Global, and Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale tests. For example, in the DSM-5 diagnostic tool, therapists rely on the mentioned symptom diagnostic criteria and match it with other tests to certify that it correlates to the client’s demographics; this helps in selecting the best test tool.
Consulting other professionals: Consultation is another basis for professional knowledge and understanding. In determining the appropriateness of a test, counselors are free to consult with other professionals and also with professional associations such as ACA and RUST (Ronald, 2017). Along with further education and training, a consultation helps a counselor maintain competence and professionalism in the administration of tests to diverse clients.
Conclusion
Counselors are obliged to uphold professional competence in the administration of tests. Diverse resources such as behavioral observations, published records, and clinical interviews are available to therapists in the selection of appropriate tests/assessments that match client needs. In choosing assessments, counselors must ensure that the test meets the intended purpose, are risk-free and non-bias, cost-friendly, acceptable to clients, and suitable to the target clients. Besides, counselors must seek consultation, further training, and legitimate diagnostic tools when determining the appropriateness of a particular test to the clients’ demographics.
References
Cohen, R. J., Swerdik, M. E., & Sturman, E. D. (2013). Psychological testing and assessment: An introduction to tests and measurements. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Corey, G. (2014). Issues and ethics in the helping professions with 2014 ACA codes. Boston: Nelson Education.
Hill, J. S., Suzuki, L. A., & Naqvi, S. (2014). Assessing intelligence in a cultural context. American Psychological Association, 55-59.
Ronald, J. C. (2017). Psychological Testing and Assessment (9th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
Salvi, G., Leese, M., & Slade, M. (2005). Routine use of mental health outcome assessments: choosing the measure. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 186(2), 146-152.