Assessment is as essential to family therapy as it is to individual therapy. Although families often present with one person identified as the “problem,” the assessment process will help you better understand family roles and determine whether the identified problem client is in fact the root of the family’s issues.
To prepare:
• Review the attached Learning Resources and reflect on the insights they provide on family assessment. Be sure to review the resource on psychotherapy genograms.
• Use the attached Comprehensive Psychiatric Evaluation Note Template and review the requirements of the documentation. There is also an exemplar provided with detailed guidance and examples.
• View the Mother and Daughter: A Cultural Tale video and consider how you might assess the family in the case study.
Assignment:
Document the following for the family in the video, using the Comprehensive Evaluation Note Template:
• Chief complaint
• History of present illness
• Past psychiatric history
• Substance use history
• Family psychiatric/substance use history
• Psychosocial history/Developmental history
• Medical history
• Review of systems (ROS)
• Physical assessment (if applicable)
• Mental status exam
• Differential diagnosis—Include a minimum of three differential diagnoses and include how you derived each diagnosis in accordance with DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria
• Case formulation and treatment plan
• Include a psychotherapy genogram for the family
Note: For any item you are unable to address from the video, explain how you would gather this information and why it is important for diagnosis and treatment planning.
Required Media Resources
• Gehart, D. R. (2013, August 29). Progress noteLinks to an external site. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEB1vBObUqc
• Masterswork Productions. (2003). Mother and daughter: A cultural taleLinks to an external site. [Video/DVD]. https://go.openathens.net/redirector/waldenu.edu?url=https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/mother-and-daughter-a-cultural-tale
• Sommers-Flanagan, J., & Sommers-Flanagan, R. (2013). Counseling and psychotherapy theories in context and practiceLinks to an external site. [Video]. https://waldenu.kanopy.com/video/counseling-and-psychotherapy-theories-contex
o Family Systems Therapy (starts at 4 hours)
Resources to consider:
• American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disordersLinks to an external site. (5th ed., text rev.). https://go.openathens.net/redirector/waldenu.edu?url=https://dsm.psychiatryonline.org/doi/book/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787
• Goldenberg, I., Stanton, M., & Goldenberg, H. (2017). Family therapy: An overview (9th ed.) Cengage Learning.
o Chapter 2, “Family Development: Continuity and Change”
o Chapter 8, “Transgenerational Models”
• Therapist Aid. (2012–2020). Genograms for psychotherapy.Links to an external site. https://www.therapistaid.com/therapy-guide/genograms
• Kaplin, D. (2021, Nov. 5). Family systems therapyLinks to an external site. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVPENypTc4k
NOTE: Please use Resources/References not older than 5-years. (Late 2018/2019 – 2023)
Rubric
