Assessment and the Beginnings of a Therapeutic Relationship

In this chapter we will look at assessment for counselling, and how to utilise psychodynamic ideas in other kinds of assessments. Assessment is a process of information gathering and trying to make sense of something; the Oxford English Dictionary (9th edn, 1997) defines it as ‘to estimate or evaluate the quality of’. Assessment can be an ongoing process, and does not have to be defined as taking place only within the first meetings. If, in our clinical work, we make ongoing efforts to think about our responses to our clients, and their responses to us, we are constantly evaluating or making assessments. This process is different to the more formal assessment for counselling described below.