180 Therapist’s Guide to Positive Psychological Interventions

Four-Front Assessment Approach

1. Areas of client weakness (i.e., impaired social skills, low intelligence, emotion
dysregulation, labile moods, personality problems)
Tracelyn appears to have few areas of weakness. She reports being very
busy, perhaps taking on too many commitments to keep the desired
balance she would like in her life. She also reported having some
difficulty overcoming a grudge against a previous romantic partner. No
problems were observed in terms of social skills, moods or affect, or
personality functioning.

2. Areas of client strength (i.e., hopeful, grateful, forgiving, courageous, resilient, high
intelligence, mood stability, healthy personality)
Tracelyn appears to have a number of personal strengths. She is highly
intelligent, emotionally stable, and consistent in terms of mood functioning.
She has good social skills and strengths of kindness, altruism, spirituality,
resilience, and gratitude. She feels a sense of meaning and purpose in her
life. Namely, she feels as if her purpose is to help her students to develop
important life skills and to foster their physical health and development.

3. Deficits or destructive forces in the client’s environment (i.e., unsafe living

conditions/neighborhood, presence of abusive relationships or neglect, exposure to
discrimination or victim of prejudice)
Tracelyn reports that she has been exposed to prejudice throughout her
life based on being a Jewish female. She also feels that she has been
discriminated against within her chosen profession as a physical
education teacher and coach of various sports, as the career she chose is
male dominated. Although Tracelyn denies any history of abusive or
neglectful relationships, she does report having been emotionally hurt by
a previous boyfriend who was unfaithful.

4. Assets or resources in the client’s environment (i.e., secure living

conditions/neighborhood, supportive relationships, opportunities for success, stable
employment)
Tracelyn lives in a safe neighborhood, has a secure job, and owns her own
home. She has very supportive family, social, and work relationships. She
has a strong connection to her place of worship and is civically engaged in
her community.

Definitions of ADDRESSING framework Client Information

Client name: Tracelyn

Age and generational influences 35 years old; third-generation US citizen,

maternal and paternal grandparents were
holocaust survivors, immigrated from Israel
and earned US citizenship; first born of four
children; first to move out of her home, but
not first to marry; parental expectations
that she will marry a Jewish man and raise
a Jewish family.

FIGURE 5.1 Summary of Tracelyn’s positive psychological assessment results.