Where to Start and What to Ask: An Assessment Handbook (Paperback)

~ Susan Lukas (Author) "We are now ready to begin addressing the first interview..." (more)
Key Phrases: mental status exam, biopsychosocial assessment, predominant affect (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Intended to help therapists and beginning students organize their approach to the initial phase of treatment, this book offers all the necessary tools for gathering information from the client and provides a framework for thinking about that information and formulating a thorough assessment. The author describes how to conduct the first interviews and includes sample forms and questionnaires.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.; 1 edition (January 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393701522
• ISBN-13: 978-0393701524
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #73,790 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, practical, how-to book to prepare social work/psychology students for practicum, May 1, 2007

By	Anonymous - See all my reviews

These days, in preparation for my internship in the fall, I'm trying to read books that will remind me how to work clinically. This one is excellent, and I deeply wish I had read it in my second or third year of graduate school. I had to learn a lot of this stuff on the job, through floundering and making mistakes, and my field experiences would have been worlds easier if someone had just told me these things. This is an extremely practical (NO theory) how-to book for social work/psychology students who are just starting out and want to know how to conduct initial interviews with various clients -- adults, children (and their parents), couples, families, etc. It also covers issues such as assessing for violent potential, suicidality, and child abuse/neglect. It's written in a very simple manner and the style and information is appropriate for students rather than professionals. However, it's serving as an excellent review for me. I also recommend it to supervisors as a good resource for providing guidance to their supervisees.

13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful in explaining steps of interview process., January 28, 1999

By A Customer

I found this book to be very helpful in supervision of both students and professionals preparing for licensure. I have the 1993 edition and cannot find the audio tapes for the book which are named on the jacket, Thinking Like a Therapist ISBN 0-393-70160-3. Can you help me locate these tapes?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for graduate students or mental health professionals, March 18, 2008

By	K. L. Smith (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is a quick read that clearly outlines exactly what the title says, where to start and what to ask. Questions to assess for suicidality, homicidality and abuse are provided. Intake interviews and the specific nuances involved are written about as well as a comprehensive set of questions to ask during an intake interview. There is a set of developmental and medical questions that really help to cover all the milestones. Some of the questions are quite detailed, but you can easily pick and choose what you want to utilize or leave out. I used many of the questions when developing my own intake interview questionnaire. Working with children, adults, couples and families are addressed as well as questions to ask during an initial intake interview for them. Pitfalls to look out for are given. This is a highly applicable book for those in the mental health or social work field.