The couple assessment summary: A bridge from assessment to treatment

Treatment of couples presenting for therapy typically necessitates a proces s of riding out the storm of contention, entering the contextual framework in which the couple is relating and developing an understanding of the coup le's interactive as well as intrapsychic world The therapist's emerging con ceptualization of the relational problems addressed in the assessment proce ss provides an important foundation for the treatment process to follow. Th is formulation is recorded in the "Couple Assessment Summary" (CAS) which i s developed in the diagnostic stage of the treatment process. A clearly conceptualized and structured document, the CAS is the suggested vehicle for engaging the couple in the treatment process to follow. The CAS serves as a logical extension of the Couple Assessment Outline, which is a therapist's tool for engaging the partners in the process of self-assessme nt and formulation. The CAS offers the therapist's perspective on the probl ems presented to the couple for review. This paper will demonstrate the uti lization of the CAS with couples in distress and will illustrate its use wi th a couple engaged in the assessment process. The CAS is seen as a useful method for developing a shared understanding of the problems presented as t he assessment process is often fraught with tension, anger and chaotic inte raction.