Therapeutic Assessment

What is Therapeutic Assessment?

Therapeutic Assessment (TA) is a unique, intensive method of self-discovery and positive change. Developed by Stephen Finn, Ph.D. and his colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin and the Center for Therapeutic Assessment, TA combines psychological tests and therapeutic interventions in a profoundly collaborative process. To learn more about the TA model, visit www.therapeuticassessment.com.

In TA, we take a journey together, following a structured protocol:

1. Formulating Questions: We start by helping you formulate the big, important, and difficult questions that you want to answer. These questions may relate to relationships, life direction, motivation, mental health challenges, progress in therapy, and more.
   
   

2. Test Administration: We administer standardized tests selected specifically to address your questions. Throughout the process, we actively involve you in understanding how test results relate to your personal experiences. (In TA, I’m the expert on tests; you are the expert on you.) 
   
   

3. Deepening: We use the test results and/or tests themselves to deepen our therapeutic work, fostering insight and emotional understanding.
   
   

4. Feedback and Discussion: We conduct a dedicated feedback and discussion session focused on answering your questions.
   
   

5. Personalized Summary: As a culmination of our work, you receive a detailed, personalized letter summarizing everything we have covered and everything we have learned along the way.
   
   

Therapeutic Assessment has a rich history of practice and research spanning three decades. Numerous peer-reviewed articles demonstrate its effectiveness, showcasing how clients experience decreased symptoms over time, increased well-being, and improved outcomes in ongoing psychotherapy. While TA is not a guaranteed solution, the psychological tests we employ are powerful tools with decades of refinement and extensive participant studies. TA's unique potential lies in harnessing that power within a therapeutic environment, offering deep insights and the beginnings of profound change in a relatively short time frame.

What kinds of questions can TA address?

Big, important, and/or difficult questions. For instance: Why am I so bad at intimate relationships? How can I figure out what to do in life? Why can’t I motivate myself – do I have ADHD? How much did my childhood impact me? How can I be a better parent to my children than mine were to me? Why am I stuck in therapy? In some cases, you and your therapist can come up with questions. Often, we unearth important questions as part of our initial interview. In any case, it’s my first job to make sure that you and your questions are a good fit. And we don’t proceed until you and I agree on goals, timeline, and costs. 

Speaking of costs and timeline…? 

Assessment is a real commitment in time and money, as the entire process includes 10-16 hours of meetings and several more hours of scoring, interpreting, and writing, over the course of several weeks. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (and expense) for most. My assessment rate is generally $250/hour, though I am sometimes able to offer a reduced rate, as I’m committed to providing services to people with less financial resources. I will provide a detailed estimate after our initial consultation call, and a more specific one after our first full meeting. 

How do we start?

Email me at dr.rob.riddell@gmail.com. We’ll set up a free consultation call and take it from there.