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Assessment

At COAP, we partner with our clients to gain an understanding of the presenting difficulties and establish treatment plans based on this collective understanding. 

Diagnostic Assessment

COAP therapists have extensive experience in formulating diagnoses and treatment plans related to obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders, anxiety disorders, and many problems often found to co-occur with these disorders. Such problems may include depression, substance use, and disruptive behavior disorders. Standardized questionnaires, interviews, and observations may be used to better understand the presenting problems, DSM-5 diagnoses, emotional adjustment factors, and other vulnerabilities.

When learning, educational, or complex psychiatric challenges are speculated, we may refer to providers with relevant specialties and work with them to best account for these challenges in an individualized treatment plan. 

Functional Assessment

Our clinicians often conduct functional assessments, particularly  of children with a complex or inconsistent presentation of difficulties. A functional assessment may differ from a questionnaire and interview style in that the aim is to focus on specific problem behaviors and pinpoint how and why they are occurring. The process of a typical functional assessment involves collecting information from multiple sources and directly observing the problems in at least one context. Clinical hypotheses about the causes and functions of the behaviors are developed from these observations and then used to support formulation of treatment plans and recommendations.

 

Functional assessments are often embedded in treatment by a single clinician. Depending on the complexity of your child's concerns, multiple team members may be involved to gather information about when the problems occur, with whom they occur, when they do not present, what consequences follow, and additional information as needed.  

 

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