Systemic and Family Assessment

Recommended Prerequisites

The student must have good knowledge of English (reading) since many bibliographic references are in English.

Teaching Methods

Theoretical/practical teaching using expositive and active methodologies. Active methodologies include research, critical analysis and discussion of assessment instruments and their use. Application (simulated) of the different assessment methods and writing assessment reports.

Learning Outcomes

Objectives: To acquire knowledge about the specificities of clinical and health assessment in a systemic and family approach. To know how to define the parameters of the systemic assessment and how it differs and can be articulated with the individual one.

Skills: The student should be able to plan a systemic/family assessment, according to its objectives, recognizing the limitations and potential of different assessment methods and tools. He/she must also be able to draw up a systemic and family evaluation report, allowing, whenever appropriate, the conversion of the information achieved into a useful and significant contribution to clinical intervention. 

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1. Assessment in Systemic Psychology: a) conceptual and methodological dilemmas and controversies (individual assessment/systemic assessment relationship); b) objectives and definition of the unit of analysis; c) ethical standards and principles.

2. Object/s of systemic and family assessment: a) therapeutic process, results and processes of change; b) normative and disruptive family dynamics and processes (e.g., parenting, conjugality); c) relationship and interfaces between contexts (e.g., family and social).

3. Systemic assessment methods: a) the interview with the reference system or with the family; b) systemic assessment tools: genogram, network map and ecomap; c) self-report measures (e.g., SCORE-15, COMPA, DSI, BFAS); d) observational measures (e.g., SOFTA-o).

4. Evaluation reports: writing/organizing, articulating, integrating and sharing information.

5. From evaluation to intervention.

Head Lecturer(s)

Luciana Maria Lopes Sotero

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Other - Role-play: 20.0%
Midterm exam - Individual assessment component: 30.0%
Project - Planning a systemic assessment (objectives, assessment unit, methods and instruments), as part of a Project Based Learning (PBL) involving other curricular units. Work carried out in groups: 50.0%

Bibliography

Relvas, A. P., & Major, S. (2014). Avaliação familiar: Funcionamento e intervenção (Vol. I). Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra.

Relvas, A. P., & Major, S. (2016). Avaliação familiar: Vulnerabilidade, stress e adaptação (Vol. II). Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra.

Relvas, A. P., & Sotero, L. (2021). Avaliação familiar. Capturando processos e dinâmicas relacionais na terapia. In M. G. Pereira & M. Miranda (Coord.), Manual de Terapia Familiar (pp. 87-99). Pactor.

Sanderson, J., Kosutic, I., Garcia, M., Melendez, T., Donoghue, J., Perumbilly, S., Franzen, C. &

Sperry, L. (2019). Couple and family assessment. Contemporary and cutting-edge strategies. Routledge.

Thomlison, B. (2016). Family assessment handbook: An introduction and practical guide to family assessment (4th Ed.). Cengage Learning.

Williams, L., Edwards, T. M., Patterson, J. E., & Chamow, L. (2014). Essential assessment skills for couple and family therapists. The Guilford Press.