Using Test Data in Clinical Practice: A Handbook for Mental Health Professionals

"I do think the idea proffered by these authors is a wonderful one: a text that will facilitate graduate students′ application of widely-used personality, intelligence, and career tests…Their systematic, step-by-step approach will be welcomed, I′m sure." -- Gordon MacNeil, University of Alabama "I believe that the book provides an additional guide in using and interpreting test results and would be useful in professional libraries and as a supplementary text in courses that integrate assessment information at the graduate level." -- Roy H. Tunick, West Virginia University   Material presented in many testing textbooks is appropriately broad and comprehensive, but the effect for students new to testing is difficulty in then translating the extensive information into the practical skills of administering, scoring, and interpreting tests to help inform the treatment process. Few resources exist to help students and mental health clinicians with the daunting task of learning how to synthesize test data from numerous instruments into a meaningful treatment plan and strategy for a client. This book was written to address that need. It provides readers with clear and detailed step-by-step procedures for using the WAIS-III, MMPI 2, MMPI A, Kuder Occupational Interest Survey, and the Strong Interest Inventory. It features case examples and practice opportunities in test usage, detailed discussion of approaches to client feedback and report writing, and a review of ethical and legal considerations in using tests in clinical settings. It takes readers through a systematic explanation of how to understand and integrate data from multiple sources to maximize the information gleaned from the tests. It also emphasizes using test data to maximize helpfulness to the client and how to interpret test data to clients in language that is understandable. 

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction to Testing in Clinical Practice The WAIS-III: Guidelines for Administration and Interpretation Presentation of WAIS-III Findings in Reports and to Clients The MMPI-2 and MMPI-A: Guidelines for Administration and Interpretation Effective MMPI Feedback Sessions and Written Reports The Strong Interest Inventory and the Kuder Career Search Interest Inventory Interpretation Adult Case Study Ethical and Legal Responsibilities in Testing in Clinical Situations Appendix A: MMPI-2 Practice Case of Jerome

About the Author :
Kathryn C. MacCluskie is a graduate of West Virginia University and is an Associate Professor at Cleveland State University. Her area of specialization is teaching clinical skills, with an emphasis on standardized assessment. She has authored several articles and co-authored the recently published book Becoming an Agency Counselor in the 21st Century Elizabeth Reynolds Welfel is Professor and Coordinator of Counselor Education at Cleveland State University. She earned her doctorate in counseling psychology at the University of Minnesota in 1979 and is a licensed psychologist in Ohio. Prior to her position at Cleveland State she was on the faculty of the counseling psychology program at Boston College. She is author of two other books, Ethics in Counseling & Psychotherapy and The Counseling Process and is co-editor of The Mental Health Desk Reference. She has published numerous articles in the professional literature related to responsible professional practice. Her most recent research explores the ethical issues related to the provision of clinical services via the Internet. Sarah M. Toman (Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, Kent State University, 1995) is a graduate of the three-year post-doctoral Gestalt Training Program at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. She serves as Secretary for the Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy. She has been teaching an advanced graduate Gestalt Therapy course at Cleveland State University, where she is an Associate Professor of Counseling, Administration, Supervision and Adult Learning. Dr. Toman serves as Research Chair for the National Career Development Association, has published articles and book chapters, and has offered over 30 presentations at State, National, and International conferences. With Kathryn MacCluskie and Elizabeth Welfel, she is a co-author of the book, Using Test Data in Clinical Practice (Sage 2002).

Review :
"I do think the idea proffered by these authors is a wonderful one: a text that will facilitate graduate students’ application of widely-used personality, intelligence, and career tests…Their systematic, step-by-step approach will be welcomed, I’m sure."  "I believe that the book provides an additional guide in using and interpreting test results and would be useful in professional libraries and as a supplementary text in courses that integrate assessment information at the graduate level."