19 Sep Assessing Trauma at ViewPoint Center
Assessing Trauma from an Interdisciplinary Perspective
Many of the students we serve struggle with trauma. At ViewPoint, we conduct comprehensive interdisciplinary assessments that involve every member of our staff. Our team is highly trained in evaluating trauma symptoms and determining the best course of treatment for each individual student.
An Assessment Team
Our collaborative team includes a psychologist and several therapists, psychiatric practitioners, nurses, and direct care staff. Through evidence-based assessment, we identify a child’s trauma severity and any co-occurring disorders, leveraging insights from parents, caregivers, and educators.
We utilize evidence-based assessment tools such as clinical interviews, standardized measurements, and real-time observations to gather information about an individual’s trauma history and current symptoms. This allows us to understand the severity of their trauma and identify any co-occurring mental health disorders.
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Trauma’s Impact, and the Importance of Assessment
Trauma can have a significant impact on a person’s mental health and well-being. The wide range of symptomatic manifestations can greatly interfere with daily functioning and make it challenging for individuals to engage in therapy or other interventions. Attending a stabilization and assessment center, such as ViewPoint, helps students manage symptoms and understand their needs in order to engage in therapy effectively.
After gathering information and observing the adolescent, we discuss how each traumatic event has interfered or impacted:
- Development
- Functioning (daily living, social, interpersonal)
- Emotional regulation
- Risk factors for behavioral expressions of symptoms.
Co-Occurring Diagnoses
During the assessment, we discuss how other mental illnesses may be contributing to the functioning of the adolescent. As part of the assessment, we determine what trauma-focused interventions, as well as other interventions, may be effective in relieving the symptoms and trauma responses many of our adolescents experience.
Through comprehensive assessments at ViewPoint Center, we develop accurate, flexible treatment plans for symptom relief and continual improvement.
ViewPoint Center is a specialty psychiatric hospital providing stabilization and comprehensive multidisciplinary assessment for children and adolescents of all genders ages 6–17. ViewPoint offers a short-term stabilization track (1–3 weeks) and an 8-week assessment track involving psychiatry, clinical, medical, academic, neuropsychological, and social milieu evaluation — used independently or in succession to meet each patient’s individualized needs. At the conclusion of the assessment track, each family receives a comprehensive Interdisciplinary Report with diagnostic formulation and clearly defined recommendations for future treatment. ViewPoint Center is located in Syracuse, UT, just north of Salt Lake City.
Want to learn more about our programming? Contact us today!