Clinical Assessment of Child and Adolescent Personality and ...

374 chapter 16 report writingfriends, and others may serve as allies inthe feedback process.7. Avoid questionable and/or overlyexplicit predictions (Kamphaus, 2001).Phrases to be avoided would be statementslike, “She will never go to college,”or “She will always have troublewith school.” These types of statementscan be offensive to parents, not to mentioninaccurate.8. Use good, basic counseling skills. Everyparent likes to talk about the trials andsuccesses of raising a child. Give parentsat least some opportunity to do this, as itallows you to show interest in the childby listening to the parent’s perspective.9. Do not engage in counseling that isbeyond your level of expertise. Parentsare often very eager to obtain advice froma professional. It is inappropriate (andunethical by most stan-dards) for a psychologistto provide services for whichhe or she is not trained. If, for ex-ample,a parent requests marital counselingand you have no training in this area,you should inform the parent of thisfact and offer a referral. In fact, the psychologistis wise to have referral sourcesreadily available for such eventualities.10. Be aware that some parents are notready to accept some test results. Parentsmay impugn your skills becausethey cannot accept the fact that theirchild has a severe handicap. They mayleave the session angry, and you mayfeel inept. The idea that every parentconference will end on a happy note isunrealistic. Examine your skills criticallyin response to parent feedback,but realize that some parents simplywill not accept the results because oftheir own personal issues. An exampleof such a situation may involve a parentwith the same handicapping conditionas the child. If a parent was labeledhandicapped and ridiculed by peers, heor she may become defensive and angryat the suggestion that his or her childmay have a handicap. The session withsuch a parent will likely end on a tensenote. In many of these cases, however,the parent will adapt and accept thenews after developing the psychologicalresources to cope with the attendantstresses. The psychologist mayfind this same parent to interact morepositively in the next encounter.11. Maintain a positive tone throughoutthe session and discuss the child’sstrengths and competencies.Teacher ConferencesMany of the principles used in parentconferences also apply to teachers. Severalnuances, however, will be outlined in thefollowing suggestions:1. Do not monopolize a teacher’s breakfrom teaching. Some teachers get fewbreaks in a day. Most get a brief lunch,when they prefer to unwind with colleaguesand prepare for the remainderof the day. A clinician is unlikely to commanda teacher’s undivided attentionduring such breaks. If a teacher has anadditional free period, it may be a goodtime for a conference. After school isfrequently the best time to get a teacher’sundivided attention for a meeting.Teachers are generally very busy people,so the pace of the meeting will bequicker than is the case for parents.2. Teachers are interested in schoolingissues. The diagnosis of Conduct Disorderis of less concern to teachersthan getting specific recommendationsfor helping the child in the classroom(Teglasi, 1983). If a psychologist is nottrained and/or has little experience inteacher consultation, the assistance ofsomeone like a qualified school psychologistshould be enlisted to assist withthe teacher conference.