Assessment in Counseling - Essay Example

Assessment being an integrated assortment of data gathered from both informal and formal interactions with the client by the counselor provides a more holistic insight into the problems of the client (Juhnke, 1995, p. 2). The assessing process is found to begin when the counselor starts to see “a clear picture of the outcomes a client expects from counselling” (Hiebert, 1996). The assessing process should focus on client learning outcomes as well as client impact outcomes (Hiebert, 1996).

It can be seen that client learning outcomes are easy to realize while impact outcomes may remain difficult to attain yet (Hiebert, 1996). This is shown in the below given example: School counsellors can feel confident about teaching children conflict resolution procedures or anger management skills (which are learning outcomes), but they may be less successful in making a child less aggressive (which is an impact outcome), because they cannot have sufficient impact to counteract the effects of contextual factors such as family violence and many years of practice using aggression to resolve conflict (Hiebert, 1996).

When a counselor tries to bring about both these outcomes through assessment, the assessment techniques are used in harmony with each other so that it becomes “a continuous process, throughout treatment” (Juhnke, 1995, p.2). . circumstances and the range of client learning outcomes make it unlikely that appropriate standardized assessments could be developed (Hiebert, 1996). Informal assessment techniques comprise of “informal, yet systematic, procedures for documenting the evidence that client progress has been made” (Hiebert, 1996).

Some informal assessment techniques are, goal attainment scaling, checklists, self-monitoring, thought listing, mind mapping, life line, role play, and photograph safari (Hiebert, 1996; Juhnke, 1995). Here, the process of assessment itself is viewed as part of the change process that happens in the client ((Juhnke, 1995, p.2). The five major uses of assessment according to Wall (n.d) have been “selection and placement, diagnosis, accountability and evaluation, identifying trends or progress (and) self discovery” (p.69). Wall (n.d) has also listed the advantages of using assessment, namely, objectivity, cost effectiveness and fairness (p.71-72). Two situations in which I would use formal assessment While dealing with children with language disabilities, I may use developmental screening method (Gullo, 2005, p.45). Gullo (2005) has described developmental screening tests as “norm-referenced assessment instruments that allow one to compare an individual child’s score with those of other children of similar chronological age” (p.45). These tests will also enable me to gauge the “visual-motor and adaptive skills” of these children and design special learning packages for them.

I can use another formal assessment method, diagnostic tests, while handling children with dyslexia. The purpose of such a test is that we identify and measure “the existence of a disability or specific area of academic weakness in a child” (Gullo, 2005, p.46). I will