16 - Behavioral assessment of adults in clinical settings

Abstract

The goals of this chapter are to describe and advocate for psychological assessment strategies that: (1) use the best available evidence-based measurement and clinical judgment strategies; (2) reflect the context dependent, conditional, and multimodal nature of behavior; (3) attend to the functional relations associated with behavior change; (4) are sensitive to diversity and individual differences among clients; (5) capture to the dynamic nature of behavior and functional relations; and (6) promote direct and minimally inferential approaches to measurement. We emphasize the conceptual foundations of behavioral assessment and their influence on behavioral assessment strategies and methods, particularly the dynamic, conditional, multimodal, and idiographic aspects of behavioral problems, goals, and causal relations. We also highlight the utility of integrating a functional analysis approach to assessment and clinical case formulations. We conclude the chapter with a set of recommendations for conducting psychological assessment in clinical contexts.