Therapeutic Assessment With Child Inpatients

Growing evidence supports Therapeutic Assessment (TA), a collaborative and therapeutic approach to psychological assessment, as an effective method for enhancing motivation for and engagement with psychotherapy across a variety of clinical populations and treatment settings. However, to date there are no known studies assessing the use of TA in child psychiatric inpatient settings. This article briefly reviews the structure of child and family TA, enumerates the challenges and risks associated with short-term inpatient stays, and proposes a path for integrating TA into these units as a way to enhance the quality of care and reduce the risk of rapid rehospitalization. The authors provide three case examples from a child psychiatric inpatient unit, each using a modified version of TA and each integrating assessments into brief family interventions. The authors conclude with suggestions for best practice for child psychiatric inpatient TAs.