Needs Analysis — Establishing Needs, Skills, Demands and Goals

A needs analysis involves using various techniques to assess, measure and ultimately understand the client’s current psychological needs: usually with a view to working out how best to help the client. The needs analysis process can include attempts to: (a) classify or diagnose the client’s issues/concerns; (b) identify the aetiology (causal chain) producing the client’s issues/concerns; (c) assess the impact/consequences of the current behaviours, issues, conflicts, etc.; and (d) to offer a ‘prognosis’ or prediction of what changes are needed, and how they might generate an impact (e.g., Gardner & Moore, 2006, p. 43). This chapter will also suggest other uses, such as monitoring progress and informing the termination process. As noted in Chapter 4, aspects of needs analysis may be deployed during the intake process and, likewise, needs analysis should ideally continue throughout the relationship in order to evaluate the effects of advice or responses to recent events.