1. Preparation: This involves learning about the patient's problem, negotiating the referral questions, and planning further steps in the assessment.
2. Input: This is when data about the patient and their situation are collected.
3. Processing: During this stage, the collected material is organised, analysed, and interpreted.
4. Output: This final stage involves communicating the study of the person and making decisions about further clinical actions.

2) Describe in detail the different stages of psychological assessment?

Detailed Stages of Psychological Assessment:

• Evaluating the Referral Question:

  • Clinicians must clarify the referral question because initial requests may be inadequately stated.
  • They need to understand the vocabulary, conceptual model, dynamics, and expectations of the referral setting.

• Acquiring Knowledge: Gathering information related to the content of the problem.

• Data Collection:

  • This includes collecting data about the client through a review of their history and records.
  • It also involves direct client contact, including interviews and psychological testing.
  • Data from various sources such as interviews, observations, self-report inventories, questionnaires, reports by others, computerised assessments and physiological assessments are collected.

• Data Interpretation:

  • This step involves developing impressions, identifying relevant facts, and making inferences supported by consistent data.
  • Clinicians must make inferences from test data, developing hypotheses and checking their validity.
  • Test results are interpreted, relating them to the initial reasons for evaluation and integrating them by categories like intellectual ability, competence, and interpersonal skills.

• Writing a Summary and Recommendations:

  • This involves integrating information from all sections of the report.
  • A diagnosis, key findings, and recommendations are presented.

• It's important to note that these stages often occur simultaneously and interact with one another, as clinicians integrate data and serve as experts on human behaviour throughout the assessment process. Clinical interpretation is not limited to one point but occurs in all stages, requiring both statistical and clinical prediction.

Important Points