Using Test Data in Clinical Practice

A Handbook for Mental Health Professionals

-- Gordon MacNeil, University of Alabama

-- Roy H. Tunick, West Virginia University

  Material presented in many testing textbooks is appropriately broad and comprehensive, but the effect for students new to testing is difficulty in then translating the extensive information into the practical skills of administering, scoring, and interpreting tests to help inform the treatment process. Few resources exist to help students and mental health clinicians with the daunting task of learning how to synthesize test data from numerous instruments into a meaningful treatment plan and strategy for a client.

This book was written to address that need. It provides readers with clear and detailed step-by-step procedures for using the WAIS-III, MMPI 2, MMPI A, Kuder Occupational Interest Survey, and the Strong Interest Inventory. It features case examples and practice opportunities in test usage, detailed discussion of approaches to client feedback and report writing, and a review of ethical and legal considerations in using tests in clinical settings. It takes readers through a systematic explanation of how to understand and integrate data from multiple sources to maximize the information gleaned from the tests. It also emphasizes using test data to maximize helpfulness to the client and how to interpret test data to clients in language that is understandable.