Intakes are par for the course and by the time you begin working in the theraputic process you should be very comfortable with it. But, some of us hate the process
For those unfamiliar, a psychiatric assessment and intake are related but distinctly different processes in the field.
As discussed last week, an assessment is a detailed evaluation of a person’s mental health. This includes their symptoms, behavior and mental functioning. It involves a thorough review of their history, observing their behaviors and adminstrating of standard assessment tools based on the information provided. These tools take the form of questionnaires and rating scales that relate to specific subjects. Such as trauma, depression, alcohol, anxiety and anger. The final aim being to diagnose mental health conditions, underlying issues, identify strengths and create a treatment plan.
An intake is the initial process of gathering information about the individual seeking services. It involves
Collecting basic information such as demographic data, medical history, family history, presenting symptoms and their reasons for seeking treatment. The aim of this is to determine and identify their needs, prioritize service and assign to an appropriate provider.
The intake always comes first and is far less detailed than the assessment. It is the assessment that establishes a diagnosis and treatment plan.
….so why do I hate doing them?
For starters I hate the administrative aspect of it. The paperwork, documentation and data entry. It’s a time consuming process that takes away from the more direct care of working with clients. It’s repetitive and the basic questions often don’t allow for a more indepth exploration of where the clients at. They are also usually rushed ,with very limited time provided.
This time limit also makes any empathetic response feel superficial as it’s difficult to establish a meaningful connection with who could be your own future client (depending on how yout agency handles assessments). Which can be especially difficult for clinician and client as they may be re-traumatized by sharing older traumatic or distressing stories. Such exposure to secondhand trauma can be emotionally taxing for providers and lead to burnout.
And perhaps the biggest factor, at least in my opinion is the formulatic nature of the process makes it so difficult to add any flexibility or creativity to it. Which may seem like a selfish desire to put one’s on approach or style to the interaction. But, it is that signature style that generate genuine connection and empathy and helps a client determine if your approach works for them or not.
…..until next week
herewesayf&@#k!!! 