Therapeutic Assessment of a Man With "ADD"

• Published in: Journal of personality assessment Vol. 80; no. 2; pp. 115 - 129
• Main Author: Finn, Stephen E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia, PA Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc 01.04.2003; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Adult; Attention deficit disorder; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - diagnosis; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Cooperative Behavior; Humans; Individual psychotherapy; Male; Medical sciences; Personality Assessment; Professional-Patient Relations; Psychological assessment; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychotherapies. Psychological and clinical counseling; Single case studies; Texas; Therapeutic approaches; Therapist-Client relationships; Treatments; Young men; Texas; Case study; Human; Evaluation; Symptomatology; Treatment; Attentional disorder; Professional practice; Individual psychotherapy; Differential diagnostic; Therapeutic relation; Personality disorder
• DOI: 10.1207/S15327752JPA8002_01
• ISSN: 0022-3891

In this article I present the first published complete case study of a psychological assessment done by the methods of Therapeutic Assessment. A client-therapist pair had been working together for several years but felt "stuck" in the treatment. The man had been previously diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and sought help for disorganization and difficulties in romantic relationships. The therapist asked for diagnostic clarification but gradually revealed a deeper confusion about how to work with the client. Through the collaborative process of the assessment, the client gradually concluded that he did not have ADD, and he and the therapist reached a joint understanding of their next steps in treatment. This case illustrates how collaborative psychological assessment (a) can help clients revise their "stories about themselves and the world" and (b) provides an effective, nonthreatening way for a consultant to intervene in a client-therapist system that has reached an impasse.