For Chris—my partner, best friend, and colleague.

For Charlotte and Gracie—my independent, smart, and funny daughters.

Thank you for making everything more meaningful.

The purpose of this book is to provide information about the various assessment procedures that are specifically relevant for practicing counselors. The book deals with the use of these assessment procedures in the counseling process; emphasizes the selection, interpretation, and communication of psychological test results; and highlights the basic principles of psychological assessment. It stresses the importance of integrating assessment results with other information about the client. One primary assumption undergirds this text: Counselors engage in assessment practices every day, and these practices affect relationships, treatment decisions, and culturally responsive counseling. Furthermore, assessment involves both quantitative and qualitative indicators.

This book is not designed to be a comprehensive textbook or desk manual on the various assessment tools themselves. A number of excellent books describe psychological tests and other assessment procedures in detail. It is expected that counselors will make use of such publications along with other resources as they evaluate assessment tools. As with the previous editions of this book, the latest developments regarding those assessments commonly used by counselors and other mental health professionals are included. New to this edition are some innovative ways to integrate assessment into the counseling profession. Core areas identified by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) are also included to help ensure that counselors and counselor trainees are prepared adequately to engage in testing and assessment practices within the field.

Some of the key features of the sixth edition of this text include the following:

• Bolded key terms to facilitate comprehension of major concepts
• Chapter pretests (“Test Your Knowledge”) to gauge previous learning
• Self-development activities, such as reflective exercises and class and field activities
• “Tip Sheets,” or practical, user-friendly information about major assessment concepts, issues, and practices
• The inclusion of practitioner voices on various assessment topics (“Assessment in Action”)
• Case examples that highlight assessment issues and score reports
• Sample assessment items with an expanded list of common assessment tools
• Coverage of the history of assessment, test-access issues, cultural bias in assessment, high-stakes testing, qualitative assessment, and specialty areas of assessment and related standards
• Review questions and chapter summaries
• Resources for further learning
• A sample assessment report
• Common statistical formulas used in assessment

The sixth edition of this text builds on some of the key additions of the fifth edition in several ways. First, this edition includes updated references for assessment tools and scholarship in assessment-related procedures and practices. Second, this edition has an increased focus on multicultural counseling competency and social justice as it pertains to the counseling and assessment process. Third, the text includes at the end of each chapter resources for further learning. Finally, supplemental materials for instructors have been developed and are available through the American Counseling Association; these materials include chapter outlines, chapter PowerPoints, a test bank of multiple-choice and true/false items, and a sample syllabus.

The text is organized into five sections. Section I, “Foundations of Assessment in Counseling,” includes introductory concepts of assessment that are useful for conceptualizing measurement and statistical concepts and working with various types of assessment. The four chapters in this section include a discussion of basic assessment terms; the history of assessment; the purpose and use of assessment; the assessment process related to selection, administration, interpretation, and communication; ethical, legal, and professional issues in assessment and related assessment standards; and multicultural assessment practices. Section II, “Basic Statistical and Measurement Considerations,” includes two chapters that address foundational knowledge in statistics and measurement. Specifically, the following concepts are discussed: scales of measurement; reliability, validity, and correlation; test development; measures of central tendency and variability; and raw score transformation. Section III, “Initial Psychological Assessment,” includes two chapters related to common assessment tasks typically found at the beginning of the counseling relationship to gauge mental health and substance abuse symptoms. This section addresses the intake interview; mental status examination; several general screening inventories; specialized assessment of suicide risk, substance abuse, depression, anxiety, anger, self-injury, eating disorders, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; and use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Section IV, “Types of Assessment,” is the largest section and includes six chapters. The section is devoted to specific classes of assessment, including intelligence, ability, career development, and personality. In this edition, you will find expanded coverage in areas such as high-stakes testing, projective assessments, and interpersonal assessment involving intimate partner violence and child abuse. Furthermore, recent revisions in intelligence and ability assessment are discussed. Section V, “The Assessment Report and Future Trends,” first provides a chapter that outlines general guidelines for communicating assessment findings to a client and other stakeholders as well as developing a research report. The second chapter in this section, new to this edition, focuses on future trends in assessment—in particular ways that counselors can expect to respond to issues such as a changing cultural landscape, globalization, and technology. The text also includes several appendices: common statistical formulas (Appendix A), a sample assessment report (Appendix B), and an answer key for “Test Your Knowledge” items (Appendix C). Throughout the text, greater attention has been paid to multicultural and social justice considerations in assessment.

In graduate courses that cover the use of tests and other assessment procedures in counseling, information about various tools is typically covered, but the actual use of psychological assessment procedures in counseling often must be learned through trial and error. This text should help remedy this situation by providing information to assist the counselor in choosing, administering, and interpreting assessment procedures as part of the counseling process.

Assessment and Testing Section

I thank Carolyn Baker, American Counseling Association (ACA) associate publisher, for her support and responsiveness throughout the writing and production process. I am also grateful for the work of Bonny Gaston, senior production manager, and the other ACA staff members who made this edition possible.

I appreciate the contributions of Albert B. Hood and Richard W. Johnson to the practice of psychological assessment in general and as authors of the first four editions of this text. The counseling profession has certainly been influenced by their countless achievements in research and practice, and I am humbled to build on their work in this sixth edition.

Finally, I am thankful for my students and mentors in the assessment world who remind me every day of the important role of assessment.

Danica G. Hays, PhD, is a professor of counselor education and executive associate dean in the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Sheearned a PhD in counselor education and supervision, with an emphasis in multicultural research, from Georgia State University. Her research interests include qualitative methodology, assessment and diagnosis, trauma and gender issues, and multicultural and social justice concerns in counselor preparation and community mental health. She has published numerous articles and book chapters in these areas as well as these books in addition to this text: Developing Multicultural Counseling Competence: A Systems Approach, Qualitative Inquiry in Clinical and Educational Settings, Mastering the National Counselor Exam and the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Exam, The ACA Encyclopedia of Counseling, and A Counselor's Guide to Career Assessment Instruments. She has extensive leadership history in the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC) and the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), including serving as AARC president, AARC founding journal editor for Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation, ACES journal editor for Counselor Education and Supervision, and president of an ACES region. She is a recipient of the Outstanding Research Award, Outstanding Counselor Educator Advocacy Award, and Glen E. Hubele National Graduate Student Award from the American Counseling Association as well as the recipient of the Patricia B. Elmore Excellence in Measurement and Evaluation Award and President's Special Merit Award from the AARC.