Assessment & Treatment Planning Flashcards

When an RPT sets treatment goals collaboratively with a child's parents, this practice is MOST aligned with which ethical principle?

Answer: Autonomy and informed consent

Collaborative goal-setting with parents supports autonomy and informed consent by ensuring caregivers are active, informed participants in the treatment planning process.

A child who uses sandtray play to create scenes with isolated figures separated by barriers is MOST likely communicating themes of:

Answer: Loneliness, disconnection, or emotional isolation

Figures isolated behind barriers in sandtray play frequently symbolize themes of loneliness, disconnection, or emotional isolation in the child's inner world.

Which of the following BEST describes a 'functional behavioral assessment' in the context of play therapy?

Answer: Identifying the antecedents, behaviors, and consequences maintaining a target behavior

A functional behavioral assessment identifies antecedents, behaviors, and maintaining consequences (ABCs) to understand the function of a target behavior.

In play therapy assessment, the term 'affect attunement' refers to:

Answer: The therapist's empathic recognition and reflection of the child's emotional states

Affect attunement is the therapist's empathic recognition and reflection of the child's emotional states, which supports therapeutic alliance and accurate assessment.

A treatment plan is reviewed and found to lack any measurable outcome criteria. This is MOST problematic because:

Answer: Progress toward therapeutic goals cannot be objectively evaluated

Without measurable outcome criteria, the RPT cannot objectively evaluate whether treatment goals are being achieved, undermining accountability and effective care.

When conducting a developmental history during intake, which domain is MOST important to assess for a child referred for social withdrawal?

Answer: Early attachment and social development milestones

Early attachment and social development milestones provide critical context for understanding social withdrawal and inform a relationship-based treatment approach.

In the context of play therapy assessment, 'post-session notes' documenting play themes, therapist observations, and session affect serve PRIMARILY to:

Answer: Track treatment progress and inform ongoing case conceptualization

Post-session notes tracking play themes and therapist observations serve primarily to monitor treatment progress and continuously refine the case conceptualization.