The Clinical Utility of Incorporating Therapeutic Assessment into the Treatment of Eating Disorders with Adolescents

Date of Award

6-29-2017

Document Type

Undergraduate Capstone Project

Degree Name

Psy.D.

Organizational Unit

Graduate School of Professional Psychology

First Advisor

Hale Martin

Second Advisor

Lynett Henderson Metzger

Third Advisor

Erin Jacklin

Keywords

Eating disorders, Mental illness, Adolescents, Therapeutic assessment (TA)

Abstract

Eating disorders are among the most difficult mental illness to treat; they often begin in adolescence and involve protracted recovery and high relapse rates. Recent eating disorder research has focused on incorporating families into treatment for eating disorders as a more comprehensive approach to treatment. Therapeutic Assessment (TA) is a collaborative approach to psychological assessment that is also a brief therapeutic intervention. Adapted from TA specifically tor adolescent clients, Therapeutic Assessment with adolescents engages both the adolescent and the family with the aim of building an understanding of the adolescent's struggles and promoting positive adolescent development. Early evidence indicates that TA is effective in helping an adolescent client and their family by increasing empathy, building collaboration in working towards a common goal, and supporting adolescent development. This paper describes the clinical utility of incorporating into the treatment of adolescents diagnosed with eating disorders, particularly when traditional family-based interventions are failing. This paper uses a case example to illustrate the potential benefits of this approach and its application.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. Permanently suppressed.

Extent

43 pages

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