4.01 - The Role of Assessment in Clinical Psychology

Surveys of clinical psychologists exploring the distribution of their time across the provision of services in their practice reveal that most clinical psychologists devote a considerable amount of time to psychological assessment, and this has held steady over several decades (Archer et al., 2006; Camara et al., 2000; Wright et al., 2017). This was particularly the case in the early years of clinical psychology as a formal profession or sub-discipline of psychology in which the assessment of intelligence and the development of theories of intelligence were on the development of such tests played a critical role (Reisman, 1990). Grymes et al. (this volume) explicate nicely and in some detail these tests (e.g., the Stanford-Binet scales and the Wechsler scales) and the role their development played in conceptualizing or formulating theories of intelligence. Over the years there was an expansion to other types of testing, including the assessment of personality and psychopathology using projective tests which are now known as performance-based tests (e.g., the Rorschach, the Thematic Apperception Test) and objective tests (e.g., the MMPI). The roles and different assessment contexts and referral sources that clinical psychologists are involved have also changed over time. For example, it was not that long ago in which the primary role and purpose of psychological assessments was to evaluate inpatients and outpatients in publicly-funded mental heath settings, assessing a range of issues, including cognitions, affect and behaviors, personality traits, clients strengths and weaknesses in order to make judgments regarding diagnoses, treatment recommendations, and prognosis (Sellbom et al., 2013). While these roles and types of assessments still exist, it is now to a lesser extent and is more likely that the assessment practice of clinical psychologists will be conducted in the private sector and the types of assessments are more likely to be disability evaluations, custody evaluations, and public safety officer evaluations (e.g., police, firefighter).