Therapeutic Assessment in a University Counseling Center: A Replicated Single-Case Time-Series Pilot Study

Abstract

In this study, we pilot tested Therapeutic Assessment (TA) in a university counseling center using a replicated single-case design to generate hypotheses on the effectiveness and applicability for this setting and population. We aimed to see whether TA could be an effective brief intervention to address students’ presenting mental health concerns. Further, we explored whether different types of presenting concerns were associated with differential symptomatic improvement during the intervention. An independent clinician interviewed participants before the baseline period to develop individualized rating scales pertaining to their presenting concerns. Eight consecutive students accessing the counseling center enrolled in the study and rated their presenting problems across baseline, intervention, and follow-up periods. The intervention involved five TA sessions. The results suggested that TA is associated with statistically significant reductions in clients’ symptoms in the context of a university counseling center. Idiographic trajectory analysis of participant data who experienced significant and insignificant change was used to test whether changes were associated with the onset of TA. The findings suggest TA might be more effective for certain presenting concerns than for others. The implications for the implementation of TA in university counseling centers is discussed.

Declaration of interest

Drs. Aschieri, Fantini, and Smith are on the Board of Directors of the Therapeutic Assessment Institute.

Data availability statement

The complete dataset is available by request to the corresponding author.

Notes

1 The Ente per il Diritto allo Studio dell’Università Cattolica (EDUCatt) [the Institution for the Right to Study of Catholic University of the Sacred Heart] is the institution supporting the right to study of students enrolled in the Catholic University of the Sacred Hearth. It provides scholarships and low-cost services such has dormitories, medical care, psychological counseling, books and publications, and others.