Week 8: AT Assessment

Topic: Compare and contrast the approach to AT assessment presented in Chapter 7 to at least 2 different approaches to assessment in mental health treatment


In Adventure Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice, Gass, Gillis, and Russell provide information on primary processes Adventure Therapists utilize in forming client assessments. The authors detail two models that compliment each other well when used simultaneously. The CHANGES (Context, Hypothesis, Action, Novelty, Generating, Evaluation, and Solutions) model provides a system for assessing the client at a macro level from the beginning of treatment to to solution discovery. On the micro level, the GRABBS (Goals, Readiness, Affect, Behavior, Body, and Stage) model provides an outline for assessing the client in the moment. Putting the two models together provides the Adventure Therapist with an overarching assessment ability as well as an in the moment assessment ability. It is key to recognize how much these models benefit Adventure Therapists in performing the ongoing assessment of clients throughout an AT experience. Ongoing assessment gives Adventure Therapists the necessary information to make treatment adjustments and shifts which is vital to maintaining a productive treatment plan concurrent with evolving client needs.

In my search for different assessment approaches, I came across this webpage from the National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth (NCFY). The webpage displays a table with an extensive list of assessment tools for "measuring mental health, substance abuse, and independent living skills in adolescents." The webpage provides three roles of assessments: "Identify strengths and needs; Measure baseline and changes over time; Accurately identify youth in need of treatment." According to the table, none of the assessments last more than 2 hours and the majority only take 30 minutes or less. Out of 39 assessment tools, 20 do not require any special training to perform the assessment. The good majority of these assessments are in the form of questions. From this information, it appears that these assessments are designed to gain information on a specific aspect of adolescent issues in a short amount of time.

A study from the World Psychiatry online journal studied the reliability and benefits of the development of the Global Mental Health Assessment Tool- Primary Care Version (GMHAT/PC). Results indicated that this computer-based assessment tool is reliable and due to its ease of use, it is very beneficial for Primary Care Physicians and professional who do not have extensive training in mental health disorders. The article spoke on how beneficial such a tool could prove to be because of the great benefits it would provide for early detection of mental health disorders. You can find the article here.

In relating these three different assessment approaches, I feel that each type obviously serves its own purpose. The purpose for which the GMHAT/PC was created is definitely important. Children and adolescents do not receive mental health treatment unless the need is noticed. For far too many, the supervision is not present that would notice such disorders. Having a way for the everyday general practitioner to quickly and effectively assess mental health in patients is extremely positive. If more adolescents were diagnosed earlier in their lives, they would be able to receive necessary treatment earlier as well. Suffice to say, this would decrease the likelihood of adolescents engaging in destructive and harmful behavior to themselves and others.

The many assessment tools listed on the table provided by the NCFY, are similarly beneficial for determining the presence of a mental health condition and appropriately naming it, however these tools are appear much more specific. For the purposes of my discussion here, administering assessments like these would be the appropriate next step. Of course, I will argue that an appropriate third step is AT. An Adventure Therapist can information provided from various assessments in determining the context of clients' situations. The main difference comes in the ongoing assessment of the clients. A seasoned Adventure Therapist can effectively utilize the CHANGES and GRABBS models to provide a system and means for assessment that is far more detailed, personalized, and up to date with clients' ever-developing treatment. I do not suggest any one tools as better or worse than another. They all have their use and place in mental health treatment.


References:

Assessment and Screening Tools for Measuring Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Independent Living Skills in Adolescents. Prepared for the Family and Youth Services Bureau by the National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth. Retrieved from: http://ncfy.acf.hhs.gov/book/export/html/476

Gass, M. A., Gillis, H. L., & Russell, K. C. (2012). Adventure therapy: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

Sharma, V.K., Lepping, P., Cummins, A.GP., Copeland, J.RM., Parhee, R., Mottram, P., (June 2004). The Global Mental Health Assessment Tool- Primary Care Version (GMHAT/PC). Development, reliability, and validity. World Psychiatry, 3(2). Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1414685/