Formal parenting assessments can help to identify your parenting strengths and weaknesses and provide a clearer path forward for your parenting strategies and mental health care. Insight’s trained therapists provide assessments that assist individuals to improve their lives. Parenting assessments are helpful in identifying your levels of mental health symptoms and parenting knowledge objectively. While assessments can vary from individual to individual, most times they include testing, interviews, observation, and consultation with one of Insight’s trained professionals.
What is a parental assessment?
A parental assessment looks at the dynamics between a parent and their child/ren and typically assess the parent’s mental health, parenting ability and parental capacity.
Why is the assessment used?
Parental assessments can be obtained privately or are commonly requested by Child and Family Services.
Privately, it can be done to evaluate your parenting techniques, parenting philosophy, ability and any mental health or parenting related questions. The information gathered can be useful for self-reflection and personal growth, benefitting you, your child/ren, and your entire family.
Sometimes a parental assessment is ordered privately in preparation for a divorce.
The assessment process
Insight’s parental assessment process may include:
- Reviewing children services or Court ordered documents (if applicable)
- Interviewing or consultation with police, teachers, Alberta Children and Family Services, grandparents, other family members and friends.
- Exploration and review of appropriate parenting techniques
- Personality and parenting testing
- Parent-child observations
- Reference checks
- Thorough background history gathering on every person involved in the family
- A home visit with identification of potential for child abuse, violence or alcohol and drug abuse
- Examination and a concluding report on factors pertinent to the welfare and placement of the child/ren about what risk factors are present.
Typically, these assessments are based on the number of caregivers and the number of children and can take between 10-18 hours to complete per adult.
To learn more about booking a parental assessment, please call 780-461-1717. We recognize that each individual has different needs and our intake and admin specialists will be able to provide you with an estimated quote and timeline for your assessment.
