One of the critical needs in mental health centers is to relate systematically clinical assessment to disposition and treatment procedures, that is, to "where the action is." Traditional diagnostic procedures are only loosely related, if at all, to disposition and treatment. The thesis of the present paper is that disposition and action are the ultimate critical goals for assessment. Several suggestions are made for implementing clinical and research approaches to the problem of systematically relating assessment and clinical action.
A two‐hour family art evaluation session has been designed by an art therapist and a clinical child psychologist. It has been used in a child guidance center for the past four years by the authors and other staff.
All family members are asked to engage in three tasks: (a) individually developing a scribble into a picture; (b) individually creating a family portrait, and (c) jointly deciding upon and executing a mural. Each task is followed by individual and group discussion of products, associations, and feelings aroused. Occasional “free” art products are collected during the session.
The procedure is discussed and illustrated in terms of the rationale for selection of tasks; the sources of data available on individuals, family characteristics, and family interaction patterns; the relationship of the projective and behavioral data to diagnostic conclusions and treatment recommendations; and the implementation and modifications of the technique within the clinic.
A sample of 186 outpatient children considered by both clinicians and parents as depressed or non-depressed were compared in terms of child and parent variables. Parents of depressed children appeared to be more overinvolved with their children, more overprotective, more likely to have communication difficulties in the family and more apt to undermine the child's learning. More girls were depressed than boys and depressed children exhibited more somatic complaints and coexisting phobic or anxiety disorders. The results of the present study need to be replicated with a broader group of depressed and non-depressed children and their families from other regions of the country. Further research in this area is indicated in order to provide clinicians who work with depressed children with a better understanding of their symptoms and parental characteristics.
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