Child Psychology and Psychiatry

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF FAMILY
THERAPY ASSESSMENT
Several principles guide the process of assessment
in modern systemic approaches. First, that
an explicit theoretical framework guides the
assessment process so that it will link coher-
ently into subsequent interventions, providing
‘theory–practice’ links. Secondly, that the assess-
ment process is designed to provide insights into
important aspects of family functioning. Thirdly,
that assessment offers opportunities for gathering
baseline measures of problematic aspects of family
functioning against which future outcomes can be
measured [2].