James N. Butcher - Böcker

In this book, 30 eminent contributors, from diverse psychological disciplines, address central issues in psychological assessment. Topics include ethical considerations in personality assessment, assessment of racial and ethnic minorities, and assessment of the elderly. The book maintains a practical, context-based approach throughout, and will appeal to both students and psychologists.

The establishment of frank and honest communication is one of the most important early goals of psychotherapy. Indeed, the most prominent challenge in the early stages of treatment is to develop a comfortable relationship that allows disclosure. In this volume, the authors show that objectively interpreted personality measures can be applied in psychotherapeutic assessments to facilitate an understanding of the patient and a thriving treatment program.Successful psychotherapy depends upon an early understanding of the patient's problems and personality and the establishment of attainable treatment goals. The extensive accumulated base of knowledgeabout personality and its maladjustment has become crucial when making treatment decisions about individuals in psychotherapy, and the field of personality assessment provides both methods and substantive information to support treatment-oriented evaluation. The MMPI has a long tradition of providing personality information about clients in mental health settings since the 1940s. James Butcher participated in the creation of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) in1989, which has continued to be one of the most commonly used personality tests in clinical evaluation. Over a thousand studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of the MMPI in treatmentrelated assessments. Here, Butcher and co-author Julia Perry explore the MMPI-2 as well as a new assessment tool, the Butcher Treatment Planning Inventory (BTPI). In using psychological evaluation techniques for treatment planning, many clinicians incorporate information from a broad base of instruments-clinical interview, projective testing, behavioral data, and personal history-and do not rely on data from a single source. Therefore, while this volume focuses on the use of the MMPI-2 andthe BTPI in treatment planning, it will provide a context not to the exclusion of other measures.

As one of psychology's oldest fields, personality assessment is one of the most extensively studied subsets of contemporary psychology. The Oxford Handbook of Personality Assessment synthesizes new and existing literature with clinical practice to provide a comprehensive volume on contemporary personality assessment, including its historical developments, underlying methods, applications, contemporary issues, and assessment techniques. This handbook, part of the Oxford Library of Psychology, addresses both the historical roots of personality assessment and the evolution of its contemporary methodological tenets, thus providing a foundation for the handbook's other innovative focus: the application of personality assessment in clinical, personnel, and forensic assessments. With a wealth of respected international contributors and unequalled breadth of content, the Oxford Handbook of Personality Assessment offers an authoritative and field-encompassing resource for researchers and clinicians from across the medical health and psychology disciplines (i.e., clinical psychology, psychiatry, and social work) and would be an ideal text for any graduate course on the topic of personality assessment.

This volume illustrates the diversity in assessment philosophy, theoretical orientation, and research methodology that is characteristic in the field of personality assessment. Topics range from anxiety about test taking and teaching science, to the emotional distress evoked by an environmental catastrophe.

First published in 1990. The field of personality assessment continues to grow and expand at a rapid rate. The present volume is a continuation of the author's effort to bring together significant original papers representing diverse theoretical perspectives, critical methodological issues, and a variety of assessment techniques. Diversity of assessment approaches are also considered in the present volume. These vary from traditional assessment approaches, such as the Rorschach and the MMPI, to newer instruments such as Temperament Inventory. This will be of interest to mental health professionals, as it provides new insights and information about important directions in which the field of personality assessment is going.

In keeping with the goals of this series, which are to facilitate the rapid dissemination of important new developments in theory and research on all aspects of personality assessment, the eight chapters in this volume examine a wide range of topics. These include research investigations and clinical applications involving traditional assessment techniques -- such as the Rorschach and the MMPI-2 -- and promising but less known procedures. Specific topics examined in the individual chapters range from the assessment of appreciation of humor to assessment of marital distress. A review of the contents of this volume once again demonstrates the diversity in assessment philosophy, theoretical orientation, and research methodology that characterizes the field of personality assessment.

The Advances in Personality Assessment Series began in the early 1980s to facilitate the rapid dissemination of important new developments in theory and research on all aspects of personality assessment. Impressed with the extensive research on test development and validation that was going on at that time, the editors were concerned with the limited publication resources devoted to personality assessment. With this series, they hoped to provide a publication opportunity and resource for reports of personality assessment research and/or clinical practice that might not conveniently fit in journal format because of length, focus, or content. The first nine volumes have accomplished this goal exceptionally well by highlighting new empirical and theoretical developments, providing descriptions of new scale development, and in publishing timely reviews of important research. Volume 10 -- the last in the series -- continues in the same tradition as the previous volumes, with chapters devoted to scale construction, theoretical interpretation, and empirical analysis. The editors conclude the series knowing that an important void has been filled. They close with a feeling of both accomplishment and a slight sense of regret now that their efforts for more than a decade are at an end, as well as assurance that the torch has been passed on to others.

The best resource for interpreting these widely used personality assessment tests.The best resource for interpreting these widely used personality assessment tests.Essentials of MMPI-2 and MMPI-A Interpretation presents innovative interpretive strategies for both the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2, or MMPI-2, and the adaptation for adolescents, the MMPI-A. James N. Butcher and Carolyn L. Williams detail the rationale for the revision and development of the instruments and their scales, and describe how to administer, score, profile, code, and interpret the tests.The revised edition includes the most recent MMPI research, including new information on ethnic background and cultural setting as they relate to assessment. Focusing primarily on studies of profile validity and external correlates, the revision also includes interpretive guidelines for several scales that will be introduced into the MMPI tests in 2000.Translation inquiries: University of Minnesota Press

In clear, accessible language, this book introduces readers to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), the most widely researched and broadly used personality assessment instrument.Several updates have been made since the previous edition of this popular book, including new interpretive information, new areas for application, and-most importantly-a new chapter on the MMPI-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF), a separate short instrument that beginners may confuse with the MMPI-2. Case studies are used to illustrate major concepts.

This practical guide explains how forensic psychologists can successfully use the MMPI-2 to evaluate clients in various forensic contexts and present results to attorneys and judges.The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) is one of the most widely researched and used assessment tools in psychology. Forensic psychologists often rely on it to evaluate clients involved in civil and criminal cases. Because the test results can have a significant influence on court decisions, psychologists need to understand how to make full use of the MMPI-2 in forensic settings.Building on his popular series of MMPI-2 books, James N. Butcher and his coauthors present this guide that is based on decades of research and personal experience. Following a brief overview of the MMPI-2 and its various scales, the authors further explore its applications in various forensic settings, including personal injury and workers amp rsquo compensation claims, immigration relief and deportation cases, and criminal investigations. Clear, practical guidelines bolstered by illustrative case examples will help psychologists: Understand legal and cultural factors that may influence the assessment process Evaluate neuropsychological issues, such as brain injury Employ computerized interpretations and Present results in testimony and written reports