Methods of Assessment

Abstract

The social reconstruction syndrome which was presented and then illustrated in figure 2–2 in chapter 2 provides the basis for a kind of person-problem-situation continuum with which to develop a working perspective for the purposes of assessment and treatment planning. In the light of practical experience, I reworked this perspective somewhat from Kuypers’ and Bengtson’s (1973) conceptualization and then incorporated it into an “integrative model” continuum which was presented and described in Counseling the Aging (Sherman, 1981). Since this continuum incorporates such key components as self-concept, locus of control, and others, which were just discussed in chapter 2, it will be presented here for the purpose of describing the process of assessment and treatment planning.