Therapy Assessments

Enlightened Psychology & Counselling Service provide an initial therapy assessment for individuals who are looking to potentially undertake some psychological therapy or counselling.

Sometimes, when we are looking for help, we are not always sure of the type of help we need. We just know that we need it. On the other hand, some people are very clear in their mind about what they need and will seek out that specific type of therapist/ therapy. The initial therapy assessment makes sure that the appropriate therapist and therapy is offered to the individual and sometimes, it may be the case that therapy is not recommended, for different reasons.

Essentially, the initial therapy assessment is the starting point for any therapy journey, and it is crucial in understanding the client’s issues and thus being able to appropriately recommend the most suitable type of intervention to follow.

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Therapy Assessment Overview

What to expect

Typically, an initial assessment session lasts for up to one hour, and it largely consists of the therapist asking questions about your life and the issues you are struggling with, to gain a deeper understanding of your situation. It might start off with talking about what is troubling you now and from there you and the therapist can explore these issues in more depth. It is also helpful to explore each area of life to get a full picture of how the problems affect your wider life and also to look back through your past to understand your earlier life experiences and upbringing.

Questionairre

During the initial assessment, you might also be asked to complete some questionnaires (called psychometrics) which can help to support the assessment process. These psychometrics are often repeated mid-way through a block of therapy treatment sessions and also at the end, and they can show numerically, how your mental health is progressing.

Defining your goals

Towards the end of the assessment, your therapist might also ask you about your goals for therapy and your expectations. The therapist will also be able to make a recommendation at this point as to the most appropriate type of therapy for your needs and how many sessions might be required. This will be based on the This will be based on the current clinical guidelines and research.

The therapist may also be able to offer their clinical opinion on the diagnostic classification of your issues if you want or require this. Receiving a formal diagnosis for your medical records would normally be undertaken by your GP or an NHS Psychiatrist, however as a Practice, we can offer reports or letters or recommendation for your GP to support the diagnostic process.

Conclusion & Further Steps

On conclusion of your assessment, you can then consider the recommendations made by the therapist and whether you would like to embark on the therapeutic intervention that has been outlined for you.

In some circumstances, the therapist might not recommend a course of therapy/treatment and there can be different reasons for this. For example if a person is severely alcohol dependent, then they may need medical intervention in an appropriate service where they can detox safely, before private would be safe/or effective. Also, some people might have been “told” to come to therapy by a relative or loved one and may not feel motivated at all to engage in the process. In this case, where there is no desire to engage then it would suggest that the person was not ready to be helped. These are just a couple of examples, however any recommendation not to offer treatment will be a carefully considered one and support and guidance will be offered in terms of accessing other services.