Assessment Processes : Graduate Counselling and Applied Psychology (GCAP) 634

Overview

The process of assessment, or appraisal, is an essential competency for counsellors and is required by counselling and psychology regulators. However, many new counsellors enter the enterprise of assessment reluctantly. Assessment is commonly thought of as testing. Commonly, new counsellors wonder how testing helps people, whether clients are unnecessarily pigeon-holed by testing, and if testing is useful given its purported biased nature.

The general purpose of this course is to familiarize students with a variety of assessment procedures commonly used in counselling settings. Data from assessments are used frequently in the process of self-exploration to assist in decision-making, to help formulate intervention plans, and to document client change. In order for such procedures to be effective, counsellors need a thorough understanding of the nature of assessment procedures, the nature of the data obtained from such procedures, and how the data may be used within the counselling process.

This course is designed to prepare entry-level counsellors to gain necessary knowledge of general principles of assessment in counselling and to enable them to begin the practice of formal and informal assessment under supervision. Students will have the background knowledge to administer and interpret Level B tests under supervision.

Outline

• Lesson 1: Introduction to Assessment
• Lesson 2: Ethics, Part 1: General Ethical Principles and Culturally Sensitive Practice
• Lesson 3: Ethics, Part 2: Test Security and Copyright Issues
  • Embedding Systematic Assessment in the Counselling Process
• Lesson 4: Assessment Interviewing
• Lesson 5: Psychometric Concepts and Test Construction
• Lesson 6: Nonstandardized Assessment Techniques
  • Designing an Assessment Process
• Lesson 7: Assessment in Career Counselling
• Lesson 8: Personality Assessment
• Lesson 9: Behavioural/Observational Assessment
• Lesson 10: Psychoeducational Assessment
• Lesson 11: Clinical Assessment/Diagnosis
• Lesson 12: Communicating Assessment Results
• Lesson 13: Summary and Feedback on PowerPoints

Course Evaluation

To receive credit for GCAP 634, students must submit all of the course assignments. The passing grade for the course is B- (70%). The weighting of assignments is as follows.

The assessment structure for GCAP 634: Assessment Processes is based on the following course activities, with the percentage weighting of each activity as indicated. Your final grade for the course will be a composite mark based on your performance in these course activities.