Intake Form Critique Intake assessments are a critical component to any treatment plan. As such, a clinicians approach to intake assessment has a major impact on the success or failure of treatment and intervention. A biopsychosocial assessment provides the framework for conducting a comprehensive assessment and developing a holistic understanding of where the client is at and helps to identify the presenting problem.
1. Does it ask all of the necessary questions to determine what the client’s presenting problem is? The intake form seeks information regarding the clients’ biophsycosocial status by asking the client to check the box which most appropriately categorizes the stated problem. It is a multiple choice format which gives the …show more content…
Psychological information is also requested including past or present psychiatric treatment or hospitalizations, past or current diagnosis, childhood behavioral health and any relevant family history of mental illness. The questionnaire seeks information regarding the past and present socio-economic status of the client; seeking details pertaining to their current living and financial situation, employment, legal and military histories, culture, religion, support networks and sexual history.
While the questionnaire is broad and covers the biopsychosocial framework, the format of the questionnaire severely restricts the range of possible responses from the client.
2. Are there too many or too few questions on this form? As clinicians we understand the importance of having ‘all’ the information. It is imperative that we keep in mind that our goal is to facilitate the recovery process. It seems counter productive to overwhelm a client with fifteen pages of questions before they are able to speak to a clinician. The questions are relevant to establishing the current presenting problem, however if we are looking at the client holistically this approach to information gathering lacks a two critical component of assessment and that is content and …show more content…
What changes would you recommend for the intake forms? What would you include? What would you remove? Would you change the order or re-organize? Paperwork is a necessary evil in today’s world. When seeing a new physician, patients are often asked to come in early to fill out paperwork and are given multiple forms to work on as they sit in the waiting area. Unfortunately behavioral health clinicians have adopted this practice. It is important not to loose sight of the difference in the needs those seeking behavioral health services, versus bio-medical services, are likely to have. There is no stigma associated with seeing your primary care physician and most people know exactly what to expect from a visit with their PCP. This is not always true with those seeking behavioral health services. The stigma associated with mental health issues is pervasive. Most are unsure what to expect when seeing a clinician for the first time. Both of these situations can be anxiety producing. So when we ask someone in crisis to sit in a waiting room of a mental health clinician and fill out fifteen forms, we have stopped prioritizing the needs of those we
1. Does it ask all of the necessary questions to determine what the client’s presenting problem is? The intake form seeks information regarding the clients’ biophsycosocial status by asking the client to check the box which most appropriately categorizes the stated problem. It is a multiple choice format which gives the …show more content…
Psychological information is also requested including past or present psychiatric treatment or hospitalizations, past or current diagnosis, childhood behavioral health and any relevant family history of mental illness. The questionnaire seeks information regarding the past and present socio-economic status of the client; seeking details pertaining to their current living and financial situation, employment, legal and military histories, culture, religion, support networks and sexual history.
While the questionnaire is broad and covers the biopsychosocial framework, the format of the questionnaire severely restricts the range of possible responses from the client.
2. Are there too many or too few questions on this form? As clinicians we understand the importance of having ‘all’ the information. It is imperative that we keep in mind that our goal is to facilitate the recovery process. It seems counter productive to overwhelm a client with fifteen pages of questions before they are able to speak to a clinician. The questions are relevant to establishing the current presenting problem, however if we are looking at the client holistically this approach to information gathering lacks a two critical component of assessment and that is content and …show more content…
What changes would you recommend for the intake forms? What would you include? What would you remove? Would you change the order or re-organize? Paperwork is a necessary evil in today’s world. When seeing a new physician, patients are often asked to come in early to fill out paperwork and are given multiple forms to work on as they sit in the waiting area. Unfortunately behavioral health clinicians have adopted this practice. It is important not to loose sight of the difference in the needs those seeking behavioral health services, versus bio-medical services, are likely to have. There is no stigma associated with seeing your primary care physician and most people know exactly what to expect from a visit with their PCP. This is not always true with those seeking behavioral health services. The stigma associated with mental health issues is pervasive. Most are unsure what to expect when seeing a clinician for the first time. Both of these situations can be anxiety producing. So when we ask someone in crisis to sit in a waiting room of a mental health clinician and fill out fifteen forms, we have stopped prioritizing the needs of those we