"Am I going crazy, doc?": a self psychology approach to therapeutic assessment.
In this case study, we explore the effectiveness of Therapeutic Assessment with a severely disturbed 25-year-old man, referred by his therapist, following Finn's (2007; Finn & Tonsager, 1992, 1997) model. This patient-therapist pair had been working together for approximately 2 months, but the therapy had ceased to progress. The therapist requested a clearer picture of his patient's affective functioning, interpersonal functioning, and self-functioning that might facilitate more effective treatment. Through a collaborative assessment process informed by the principles of Kohutian self psychology, the evaluator and patient slowly formed a working alliance that proved useful for the eventual communication to the patient of his psychologically tenuous reality. This case illustrates the utility of a collaborative, multimethod Therapeutic Assessment with a severely ill patient and the use of Therapeutic Assessment by a less experienced clinician.
Peters
Eric J
EJ
The Erik H. Erikson Institute of the Austen Riggs Center, Stockbridge, Massachusetts 01262, USA. epeters4@utk.edu
Handler
Leonard
L
White
Kathryn G
KG
Winkel
Justin D
JD
D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D019455:Self Psychology