Assessment: Understanding What's Wrong is the First Step to Making it Better

What can you expect if you come to Grace and Truth for Counseling? Assessment is the first endeavor; we need to discover what's wrong, when it went wrong and how bad things are in order to begin the process of helping you to make things better. We also ask what's right, but that's a topic for another blog.

• What's wrong? 

• How did you decide to seek counseling?

• What would you like to get better? 

• What will we talk about in our last session if you get everything you want from this process? 

• What results from counseling will help be worth the time, effort and finances you invest in it?

• If a miracle happens tonight that solves all of your problems, what will be better tomorrow?

• On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your life right now?  Explain your answer.

• If you answer is a (2, 4, 6, etc.) share what is happening that you are glad about and what isn't happening that you would like to begin happening or happen more?

• Symptoms are things you experience. and signs are what others see.  What are the most difficult symptoms you are experiencing?  What signs of problems are others concerned about?

• When did the problem(s) begin? What was happening in your life at that time? 

• What have you done to try to solve your problems? What has worked? What hasn't? 

• Who has been most helpful to you? How did they help? 

• If you could solve only one problem through counseling, what would it be? 

• The main contributors to the beginning and continuation of mental and emotional difficulties are the body, the mind and relationships. 
• We refer to this as the bio-psycho-social model
• Bio is of the body and includes how your body works, physical predisposition to mood disorders, anxiety, addictions, etc. In other words, your family history.  How do others bodies work in your family.  If there is proneness to mental and/or emotional disorders, what shows up in your family tree?
• Psycho is of the mind; what you think about and how you think about it and how those thoughts affect your emotions.
• Social is your relationships. What is happening and what has happened in your closest and most influential relationships?  What is happening now? Are your relationships overall a source of stress or a blessing? 
• Which area seems to be most responsible for the difficulties you are having? 
• What is happening in each area that could contribute to your difficulties? 

This was pretty quick and pretty simple, but hopefully you will find it helpful to reflect on these questions before you come for your first appointment.  Our experience is that together we will solve the mystery of why problems are problems and how to make them better.

More next time on treatment collaborative treatment planning; how together we can efficiently resolve problems and some of the activities outside of session that are helpful in this process.

Blessings,

Jeff Williams