Assessing ego strength: spinning straw into gold.
OBJECTIVE
The reexamination of ego function from the perspective of ego strength rather than ego deficit.


OBJECTIVE
To promote the assessment of ego strength as a valuable skill for nurse psychotherapists, and to underscore the importance of ego strength as a relevant construct for both assessment and psychotherapy outcome measurement.


METHODS
The literature of modern psychoanalysis and ego psychology, Bellak's research on ego function, Parse's nursing theory, and the nursing literature on ego assessment.


CONCLUSIONS
Identifying and assessing ego strength helps nurse psychotherapists locate clients on a developmental continuum, suggests a place to join with the client at the inception of therapy, and provides data to develop therapeutic goals.
Bjorklund
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School of Nursing, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO, USA. pbjorkl732@aol.com
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D004532:Ego; D006801:Humans; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011613:Psychotherapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome