What is a socio-emotional assessment?
The socio-emotional evaluation process recognizes that a child’s emotional well-being is influenced by various systems they belong to, such as their family, school, community, and culture. The evaluation aims to understand and identify the different factors that contribute to the child’s emotional experiences within these systems. By taking a systemic approach, the evaluation can provide a more comprehensive understanding of the child’s emotional difficulties and develop recommendations that address the root causes of their emotional struggles. This can include addressing family dynamics, peer relationships, school environment, and cultural expectations.
Ultimately, the goal of the evaluation is to provide recommendations that support the child’s emotional well-being and promote their overall development. By recognizing the child as a member of various systems, the evaluation process can develop interventions that consider the broader context in which the child operates and create a supportive environment that fosters emotional growth and development.
History-free evaluation
History-free evaluations are done as far as possible. This implies that the therapist has no information regarding the reason for referral, history of the child and/or family. History-free evaluations are done as to help ensure objectivity and neutrality in the evaluation process. However, it is also important to consider the age and developmental stage of the child being evaluated when determining whether a history-free approach is feasible. With very young children (2-4 year-old) this process is not always feasible and background information is needed.
Age appropriate assessment
It is important to consider age appropriateness when conducting socio-emotional assessments. This means adapting the evaluation process to the child’s developmental level. When working with different age groups, the duration of the evaluation session should be taken into account. For primary school-age children, a 90-minute session may be appropriate, while with pre-school children, shorter sessions of 1 hour may be more appropriate due to their shorter attention span. The sessions are spread out over 2 or 3 sessions.
Process explained
- History free socio-emotional assessment sessions with the child;
- Collateral interview with parents
- Conducting collateral information in the form of questionnaires completed by parents and the school
- Feedback session to parents
Techniques use
- Play therapy;
- Clay;
- Puzzles;
- Puppets;
- Sentence completion;
- Projective techniques & Fantasy techniques.
Age appropriate assessment
- School and peer relationships;
- Relationship with parents and siblings;
- Child’s experience of marital relationship of parents;
- Other significant people;
- Relationships in which the child might be experiencing discomfort;
- Attachment;
- Broad screening of perceptual and motor functioning;
- Screening for possible exposure to trauma including physical and/or sexual abuse;
- Personality functioning and temperament.
