Professional Resources: Assessment, Treatment, Report Forms for Mental Health

Handouts, Forms and Guidelines for Mental Health and Personal Growth

These forms and write ups are ready to print, providing helpful processes, assessment information, treatment planning assistance, and intake report structure and guidelines.

Robert A. Yourell, LMFT

I prepared these, at first for myself, to fit my needs as a clinician in various roles that required many assessments, review of others' treatment plans, case management, interaction with various other systems, and results-oriented psychotherapy.

There are three items here, so far. They are in PDF, and I know many people hate it, but this way you can be certain that it will print exactly as intended. The items don't have my name in big letters or at the top (except in the instructions to you, not to the client). If you want to see improvements or specialized versions, send your comments or modifications. There are no security features activated on the PDF's so far, so you can cut and paste if you like.

Advanced Mental Rehearsal
Printable PDF Version

This is an excellent way to be in the right state of mind to handle a challenging situation. The higher the stakes, the more important it is that you use this.

Use this process for top performance in just about anything--coping with an upsetting person, public speaking, sports, creating a better relationship, etc.

"Getting There from Here"
The Yourell Self-Planner

This self-planner has twenty-three questions covering seven topics that run your client through a valuable self-assessment. It is a common-sense and clinically-grounded approach that can accommodate a basic or extensive investment by the client.

Purpose: Getting There from Here leads the client through a process that can better prepare them for intervention and for an effective dialogue with helping professionals. The result is also a plan, or valuable plan components, directly tied to the client’s needs and perceptions. As such, it can assist the counselor in maintaining rapport with the client. (If you frame your recommendations in terms of the client’s perceptions, you will side step one of the most common causes of harm to a counseling relationship by helping the client perceive you as being relevant and capable of acting in their interest.) Coaches can also use this form, or its format, to assist clients in their pursuit of excellence.

Client Ability Level: If your client would have trouble completing Getting There from Here on their own, you should take them through it with support and dialogue. This way, you will not only get assessment information, but the client will receive initial counseling with the structure of the Getting There from Here process. This can help the initial assessment and counseling work together well, and be more thorough and relevant.
Integration with the Yourell Plan Format for Counseling and Case Management: Note that the items correspond directly to the beginning of the Yourell Plan Format, a structure for initial assessment for counseling or case management.. The information that comes with the Yourell Plan Format explains how these two items can work together to improve assessment, counseling, and client readiness for intervention and dialogue.

The Yourell Plan Format for
Psychotherapy & Case Management

This is a format for conducting and writing up a clinical assessment and plan that works well with the Yourell Self-Planner: Getting There from Here form for clients. Although it is presented as a format, this is most importantly a state of mind and resulting protocol that could be active in any intake and planning process in mental health and social work, including case management.

Purpose: This format is intended for general assessments in which the client’s perceptions, case management, diagnosis, and the accountability of all persons involved, should be specified and logically tied to clearly stated goals and objectives.

This format and the Getting There from Here form may be of value to social work and mental health professionals who are not necessarily performing psychotherapy or counseling. The assessor would simply do the steps from the perspective of their existing responsibilities and scope. This format can also assist with tracking progress, because it is short and includes self-rating.

Clients benefit from palpable evidence of improved functioning, because they often underestimate their level of improvement without a comparison, and professionals with whom you must negotiate a plan can be persuaded most effectively with baselined and systems-relevant information. Often, a misperception of a client stems from an emotional reaction that causes normally objective professionals to remember selectively or even invent case history without realizing it.

Integration with Getting There from Here: Note that Getting There from Here, corresponds to section one and part of section two of this format. Getting There from Here leads the client through a process that can better prepare them for intervention and for an effective dialogue with helping professionals. If your client would have trouble completing Getting There from Here independently, you should take them through it with support and dialogue. This way, you will not only get assessment information, but the client will receive initial counseling with the structure of Getting There from Here. This can help the initial assessment and counseling work to gether well, and be more thorough and relevant.

The Yourell General Self-Rating List

This is a one-page form, mostly containing statements clients rate from one to ten. I created this inventory because I needed a brief problem list that would make initial assessments more efficient. Because I work with a wide variety of clients and often with limited time (diverse background and much EAP and managed care work that involves rapid turnover and a high ratio of intakes to regular sessions, crisis intervention) I wanted something that was broad, but not to long. Rather than just a checklist, I wanted clients to rate the items. This helps me prioritize more quickly.

This could also serve as a tracking form, because it is short and includes self-rating. Clients benefit from palpable evidence of improved functioning, because they often underestimate their level of improvement without a comparison.

I used the Problem Behavior Inventory for a long time, but it was kind of expensive given that I was working in EAP's at the time and there were many intakes. Also, I wanted something less tied to the DSM and more practical. So I kept refining my own form.

Example rating questions:

I feel successful:
__at work
__at managing money
__in my career

That's all for now. I hope you find them useful! Remember to write with any suggestions or benefits you have gotten. All feedback helps guide my work!

- Bob Yourell (Contact & Bio)