My 4 Favorite Assessment Questions

I've mentioned before that clinical assessment is one of my absolute favorite topics, and one of my favorite things about being a therapist. 

I was fortunate that early in my career I was required to complete LOTS of intake assessments and this forced me to become good at two things in particular- time management and asking good questions (not to mention typing and writing quickly, too!). 

So I thought that I'd share with you my favorite assessment questions that I've continued to find useful over time. Many times, asking these questions leads into powerful and detailed conversations about the concerns clients are bringing to therapy. 

I encourage you to try them out and adjust as much as you like to make them fit with your clientele in each situation.

1) Describe a typical day for you.

I know, I know. The first one isn't even a question! But it's one of the first things I review with clients when they come in and I find it often leads in to getting more details on the way in which their identified problem impacts their every day life. Going through their typical day prompts them to think of things they may not have considered if I simply had them list off general concerns.

By the way, I do actually have them list off general concerns ahead of time in a quick checklist (available in my Paperwork Packet). But this question often leads in to much deeper topics.

Quick Tip: Adjust this for interviewing parents about child clients.

Parents often have difficulty identifying how often behaviors occur in children. It is important to get a detailed picture of this so you can highlight progress along the way, for the sake of both the parent and the child. 

When parents describe problem behaviors, ask how often they occur by going through their day. How often does the behavior occur between waking up and going to school? How often while at school? How often between returning home and having dinner? How often between dinner and going to bed?

This will help you identify times of day that may be more problematic, triggers to behaviors, and also give you a detailed baseline to visit when you want to praise the progress that is being made in counseling.

2) What strategies have you already used to try and solve the problem?

This question is very important to me because it helps us identify what doesn't work, or how to adjust the strategies already used. Most people have already tried solutions on their own or may have reached out to other professionals for help, whether that's another therapist or a religious leader, an acupuncturist, or a psychic.

Dig in to what led them to seeking out those solutions and why they didn't work. Some may have worked up until a certain point or helped with one aspect but could not address the whole problem.

This will often bring up the deeper meaning behind a more superficial problem or identify other areas that impact the problem for which they are coming to therapy. Then you're able to identify how you can best work together, what the focus is, and where is the best place to start.

Lastly, this also a great way to discover your client's resources, network of support, and personal strengths. These are all things you can use within therapy to assist process and progress. 

3) What would you like to get out of counseling? How will you know you are ready to finish?

Somewhat related to #2, I find this question hugely valuable. This is what helps guide me throughout my work with the client because I need to stay on task.

Of course, things may change and new things will come up over time, but knowing the client's goal helps to steer the ship and know whether something should be passed up (perhaps to address later on), addressed head on, and if you may need to take land at one particular problem for an extended period of time.

This is also a way to help clients who are having difficulty transitioning out of therapy. You can point them to their own goals and reasons they would know they are ready to move on. That's why I do document this one specifically, both by asking the client to write this out before seeing me and in my notes for that session in which we discussed it. 

4) Have you ever been arrested?

A little less "touchy-feely" than the above questions, but this question is still one of my absolute favorites that also provides a wealth of information. 

Note that this is different from asking whether or not someone has a criminal record.

This is a really key distinction. The point of asking about arrests is to gather information about potential problem behaviors that may not have resulted in a criminal charge. This also helps to simplify the question because, in my experience, many people do not view misdemeanors or DUI's as a criminal record and will genuinely answer "No." 

This question will be more or less important based on the type of work you do, but it is still an important question to ask every client in every setting. 

Never assume that someone does or does NOT have a criminal record or arrest history based on their presentation! I have had many unassuming people whom I would never predict having a record answer "yes" to this and it has been important for our work together.

For child and adolescent clients, it is important to follow up by asking "Has anyone in the family ever been arrested?" 

Obviously, this can provide information that you would often not receive by simply asking about a criminal record. And, regardless of guilt or charges being made, arrests of loved ones can significantly impact a child's emotions and view of the world. These are important things about which to be aware. 

There are so many things we could potentially review with clients during our intake assessment. 

This is obviously not an exhaustive or required list. But I have found all of these to be very helpful in a variety of work situations, including private practice. Some of them are in my intake assessment that I have clients complete ahead of time, and all of them I definitely review in person. 

What other questions have you found helpful during the assessment phase in private practice, or other settings? Share in the comments below!