Psychological report format

MoManhere

Hi,
First time poster, long time lurker:-)

I'm wondering if someone could tell me if there is a format that a phycological report written by a registered phycologist in Ireland should/must stick to. If there is, is there somewhere I can get details of what this format is? A family member sadly has some phycological problems and there will be a report that we hope will give us some insight into the condition. I would like to have some idea what way the report will be structured, such as background of case, testing carried out, finding/results etc. Will it be sort of like opinion such as if I was writing a character reference or will it be factual and everything based on testing/interviews etc?

bisset

I think you are going to be disappointed. As a family member it is unlikley that you would have access to a report written by a psychologist.

In the event of a court requesting a report in relation to a teenager who is in trouble with the law the report would likley say the number of sessions the teen attended and how they themselves see their problems and whether they have verbalised an intention to address their problems.

Remember the health professional's first duty of care is to their client adn they are unlikely to include material that will damage their therapeutic relationship with their client.

MoManhere

HI Bisset,
Thanks for the reply. The person in question is an adult and I will be seeing the report as my relative will be showing it to me. It is not a court ordered report, but it seems the person asked for it so as to show progress was being made in dealing with some very serious problems.

Still, back to the format of a report. Does it read like a scientific report with a standard format? For exmple the like below to a UK website.

http://www.psychologyservice.co.uk/psychological-report.htm

Odysseus

MoManhere wrote: »

HI Bisset,
Thanks for the reply. The person in question is an adult and I will be seeing the report as my relative will be showing it to me. It is not a court ordered report, but it seems the person asked for it so as to show progress was being made in dealing with some very serious problems.

Still, back to the format of a report. Does it read like a scientific report with a standard format? For exmple the like below to a UK website.

http://www.psychologyservice.co.uk/psychological-report.htm

Yes it can, I have seen family members given access to reports like that, usually parents. It really depends on the treatment and what is being treated. I will only write reports like the one metioned by Bisset above and only if court ordered. Hope that helps.

MoManhere

Remember the health professional's first duty of care is to their client adn they are unlikely to include material that will damage their therapeutic relationship with their client.

Yes Bisset, I understand that there is a duty of care towards the client, that could as you say lead to certain material not being included. Could this not lead to an overly favourable report (in favour of the client)? Might this be in conflict with the safety of a child involved with the client?

I will only write reports like the one metioned by Bisset above and only if court ordered.

And if the client requests a report for a court hearing, is it handed to the client or to a solicitor acting for the client? I'm just wondering about standard process here as one could imagine in the hands of an unscrupulous client a report getting embellished!

Odysseus

MoManhere wrote: »

Yes Bisset, I understand that there is a duty of care towards the client, that could as you say lead to certain material not being included. Could this not lead to an overly favourable report (in favour of the client)? Might this be in conflict with the safety of a child involved with the client?



And if the client requests a report for a court hearing, is it handed to the client or to a solicitor acting for the client? I'm just wondering about standard process here as one could imagine in the hands of an unscrupulous client a report getting embellished!

It depends sometimes sent to the solicitor, social/probation worker/officer; sometime I just hand it to the client. It would be very difficult to change it, actually if theyt could do that they would be better off doing their own.

A court report generally just states that I have been seeing the patient for x amount of time and how they have engaged in the psychotherapeutic process. Depending on the case something else may be added but that doesn't happen often. If a report will be negative [e.g DNAing etc] I often suggest that the client is better off without one.

I actually hate reports or referals as they always intrude in the therapeutic process in some way; but they are some you have to work around.

With saying that I have often sat down with clients and gone through psych reports made for their kids etc, helping them understand the language used.