[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: Evaluating abuse cases
At 09:57 AM 2/8/99 -0600, you wrote:
>You ought not use the Rorschach in a forensic evaluation, it doesn't have sufficient validity or reliability. See what Robyn Dawes wrote abouat it in "The House of Cards." Also, see:
Whoa there, Holly,.... the Rorschach is or is not a useful tool for the psychologist to use depending on the psychologist. I don't conduct evaluations to meet some attorney's test or to protect myself in court, but to lead me to an accurate evaluation of the client. The Rorschach has gained a great deal of "reliability" via the introduction of the
Exner interpretive system, but I don't use that in my work. This is a test, as well as all projective testing, that you will always hear as scary to use in court. But, I promise you I know more about answering the attorney's questions in this area, than he/she does in composing the questions to ask. Even if I were not going to report the Rorschach, I would use it for its value to me in the eval.
>Two or three subtests should not be used to estimate the IQ. If you can't use it as specified in >the manual, use an IQ estimate such as the Shipley.
Tilt again, Holly..... I am free to use any technique I choose, including none, in the manner I described. If I need to know the IQ of a client (a rare event), I will administer the Wechsler in its complete form. However, if I simply want to assure myself of the client's ability to meet the minimum standards for which the MMPI was originally standardized, I will do as I indicated. I do not report the client's IQ based on such an abbreviation but that is not the purpose that I described.
>
>If you are using drawing tests, it is important to limit their use to an interview technique and not try to use any kind of sign interpretation.
Everything I know about a client becomes part of my understanding and report. To assume otherwise is naive. So when I use any projective testing, I gain some insight into how this client functions and that becomes an intergral component of my report. I am not sure what you mean by "sign interpretation" (unless you mean something like looking up a descriptor in a code book of some kind). I am sure that the distinction of use that you are implying is very abstract.
Jim Hord, Ph.D.